When Phil and Dreama Webb went to the desert for spring training back in 2004, as they drove into Tucson, there was a giant billboard promoting the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Guess whose picture was on the billboard?

It was their son Brandon, only a few months after completing a dynamite rookie season with the Diamondbacks where he finished 10-9 with a 2.84 earned run average and was voted runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year.

Even then the D-backs seemed to know what they had in Brandon Webb, a player who can be a face of the organization.

Fast-forward to the 2009 season. Webb is the face of the organization — a three-time All-Star and 2006 Cy Young Award winner and one of the most dominant starting pitchers in baseball today with 87 wins in six years. He’s in the last year of his contract with the Diamondbacks and may not throw another pitch this season.

He’s more likely to have surgery, or more rest, on a shoulder that has been bothering him since Opening Day — the last time he did pitch.

Arizona’s season is in freefall with a number of injuries to key players, with Webb heading that list. Fans are disgruntled with a team that seems to be going through the motions and finding ways to lose. They also have an inexperienced manager in A.J. Hinch, signed through 2012, that nobody seems too excited about having around.

This is the predicament with Webb. If he undergoes surgery on the shoulder — be it to repair the labrum or rotator cuff — the rehabilitation process would be nine months. If the injury only requires more rest, which is still a possibility, he’s still not likely to throw much until late August or September.

The Diamondbacks can pick up an $8.5 million option for 2010 or pay Webb a $2 million buyout and make him a free agent. They have until five days after the World Series to make a decision.

Webb says he would like to stay in Arizona. He and wife Alicia like it there and have become givers in the community. Brandon’s K Foundation, which launched in 2004, was set up to improve the lives of critically and chronically ill children throughout Arizona by providing daily support and life-changing experiences.

Since its inception, the K Foundation has raised more than $450,000 and impacted the lives of nearly 100,000 Arizona children. The ambitious goal is to reach 250,000 children by 2010.

Last year, Webb was a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.

Webb avoids controversy

and supports teammates in every situation. Former Diamondback Luis Gonzalez once told umpire Charlie Reliford that Webb was the best teammate he’s ever had.

Given how things are going on the field this year, it would seem like a good PR move to give Webb his option year and see what happens.

Yes, baseball is a business. But is it good business to cut loose a player who has been one of the best pitchers in the game, is the face of the team and has immersed himself into the team’s community?

If the D-backs decide on giving Webb the $2 million buyout, he’ll likely be signed to a one-year incentive-laden deal by somebody who is willing to take a chance — the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Angels and Red Sox jump immediately to mind. Webb won’t lose here but the Diamondbacks will.

Arizona is losing fans as fast as its losing games. It seems to me that keeping someone like Webb — a player who wants to be a Diamondback and wants to be part of the community — for another year at least would be a gamble that front office should be willing to take even at $8.5 million which, in the baseball world, is still a bargain for a Cy Young Award-type pitcher.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@

dailyindependent.com.