8:08pm: In a text to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers said the Kobayashi offer was "news to me!" (Twitter link)
7:38pm: The Diamondbacks are prepared to offer a two-year, $3MM contract to Japanese pitcher Hiroyuki Kobayashi, according to Sponichi (and tweeted by NPBTracker's Patrick Newman). We heard last week that Kobyashi was leaving the Chiba Lotte Marines for the majors, and it makes sense the reliever-starved Snakes would be interested in the right-hander.
Kobayashi became a full-time reliever in 2010, and posted a 2.21 ERA and 7.82 K/9 rate for the Marines. The 32-year-old spent his previous three seasons in the Chiba Lotte rotation, so it's possible he could also be called upon as an emergency starter. In Newman's look at the international free agent class coming from Japan, he said "Kobayashi doesn’t have a power arm, but attacks the strike zone."
