"Moments before a scheduled salary-arbitration hearing Tuesday, the D-backs and catcher Miguel Montero settled on a one-year deal worth $5.9 million.

"I was sitting in the [hearing] room," Montero said by phone from Tampa, Fla. "I was getting a bottle of water right before it was supposed to start and they told me to step outside to talk."

When arbitration numbers were exchanged a couple of weeks ago, Montero filed at $6.8 million, while the D-backs came in at $5.4 million. The arbitrator would have had to pick one of the two figures. "