SUNDAY, 1:50pm: Gregg Clifton, the agent for Benson, says that his client is willing to accept a minor league deal, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Clifton hopes to speak with the Diamondbacks today.
FRIDAY, 10:31pm: The club will probably make a decision in the next 24 hours on what type of deal to offer Benson, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
2:43pm: Kris Benson threw for the D'Backs today, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes confirmed that Benson was in camp, but declined to say how hard he threw. Piecoro says Benson faced minor league hitters for five innings in a simulated game. Byrnes told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that the club will stay open-minded about adding pitching.
"Every club is always wanting to ensure pitching depth," Byrnes said. "It's an evaluation worth doing. We'll see how we proceed."
Kris Benson deserves a minor league deal. The D-Backs really don’t have much to lose.
Benson is DONE!!!!! A career AAA guy would be an upgrade over him at this stage.
Why couldn’t he say how hard he threw, was it that low?
How is Benson better than Auginstein, Mulvey, Lopez, or any other minor league arm?
And if you HAVE to get an out-of-organization pitcher, get Washburn, or at least Looper. Benson sucks.
Why not just bring in someone like Looper on a minor league deal or Washburn, try one of those guys for 1.5M or so. Not sure what they are expecting from Benson, and I don’t know what they expect from Kennedy and Buckner as well. I think they can each potentially break out, but they can just as easily fall flat on their faces.
Kennedy has been really good this spring so far. But then again, it IS spring, so you can’t really get a good gauge on how well he’ll do this year. And after Buckner developed a cutter, he’s been pretty good. They’ll definitely be able to hold down the 4 and 5 spots. I don’t think either of them will “break out” but I don’t think they’ll fall flat on their faces.
By the way, EJax and IPK have a combined 10 IP, no runs allowed while Scherzer and Schlereth have a combined 6 IP with 14 runs allowed. Again, it is only spring, but still…
Why is this even news???
How does this qualify as trying to “add pitching.”
give him a chance first, he may surprise you…
Benson had good years for the Pirates. Where was I? I remember him stinking up the joint and then being more famous for the love making sessions in the parking lot with his wife. If I were the D-Backs, I’d sign Anna before I’d sign Kris.