By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Right-handed ace opts out of third year at UA
It appears as if Ben Diggins' career as a member of the UA baseball program has come to an end.
After an entire summer spent negotiating, the former UA pitcher has agreed on a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, UA head coach Jerry Stitt revealed yesterday. Terms were undisclosed.
"Yes, Ben signed," Stitt said. "(The terms) are not disclosed. You know how that goes."
Diggins, taken 17th overall by the Dodgers in May's amateur draft, had reportedly registered for classes and moved in with current Wildcat catcher Chris Cunningham.
Had Diggins attended class yesterday morning, he would have re-instated his amateur status, making him a member of the UA baseball team for a third season.
While Stitt was open about Diggins' status, the Dodgers would neither confirm nor deny any reports.
"We don't have any announcement at this time," Ruth Ruiz of the Dodgers' Publicity Department said. "We haven't heard anything."
Arizona's baseball program, which had reinstated Diggins' scholarship early in the week in the event a deal with Los Angeles fell through, remained hopeful into yesterday morning.
"Ben has not signed today," UA pitching coach Bill Kinneberg said in an interview yesterday morning, "Ben has not gone to class today. We can't comment on the situation."
However, Stitt revealed that Diggins had signed around 3 p.m., essentially ending any hope for Diggins' return to Tucson.
It appears as if the contract dispute between Diggins and the Dodgers, which was reported as a $200,000 discrepancy, had been resolved.
Stitt was not surprised with his pitcher's decision.
"We were kind of expecting it all along," he said. "(Diggins and the Dodgers) were getting closer and closer as time went along."
Diggins, a Baseball America first-team All-American, was 10-4 with a 3.83 earned run average in a season in which the Wildcats finished 26-30 and 8-10 in the Pacific 10 Conference.
