Nov 06, 2009 4:51 PM EST

The Diamondbacks have picked up the $8.5 million option on the contract of pitcher Brandon Webb.

Arizona is hoping that Webb will return successfully from shoulder surgery.

The team would have had to pay him $2 million in a buyout if they had declined the option.

"He's worked very hard since the surgery," general manager Josh Byrnes told the Associated Press, "and we're confident that he'll return to be a very healthy, effective pitcher."

Via ESPN