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Diamondbacks Notes: Kubel, Parra

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The Diamondbacks weren't known to be seeking a left fielder, but they reached an agreement with Jason Kubel on a two-year, $15MM deal today.  The latest on the team:

  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic spoke to D'Backs GM Kevin Towers, who said outfielder Gerardo Parra "is still very much a part of this club and was a big part last year."  Parra, a 2011 Gold Glove winner, will likely be pushed to a fourth outfielder role.
  • Kubel will earn $7.5MM in each of the 2012 and '13 seasons, tweets Piecoro, and has a mutual option for '14 at the same amount with a buyout under $1MM.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs calls Kubel a "weird signing," saying that replacing Parra with Kubel is likely to be a net negative for the team.  He doesn't think employing Parra as the fourth outfielder is a good use of resources.
  • The D'Backs had once hoped to invest in Joe Saunders or Hiroki Kuroda, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but ended up allocating that money toward Kubel.  The Kubel signing means the team is likely to round out their rotation with an internal candidate, writes Piecoro, although a cheap fifth starter signing is also possible.

Diamondbacks Continue Eyeing Kuroda, Not Saunders

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THURSDAY: The D'Backs have moved on from Saunders, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Diamondbacks continue eyeing Joe Saunders and Hiroki Kuroda as they look to fill out their starting rotation. They want to re-sign the left-handed Saunders, but are wary of his asking price, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. They also maintain interest in the right-handed Kuroda, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The team currently has four starters in its projected 2012 rotation: Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Trevor Cahill and Josh Collmenter. Though Saunders has his strengths, he had a projected salary of $8.7MM as an arbitration eligible player, so Arizona GM Kevin Towers non-tendered him. Kuroda has drawn lots of interest this offseason after posting a 3.07 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 for the Dodgers in 2011. Los Angeles has filled out its rotation and no longer appears to be a possible destination for the 36-year-old.

D’Backs To Sign Takashi Saito

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have agreed to sign right-handed reliever Takashi Saito to a one-year deal.  The contract is for $1.75MM, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who first reported the agreement (on Twitter).  The D'Backs were known to be targeting the CAA client, who drew interest from at least six teams this offseason.

Saito, who turns 42 in February, posted a 2.03 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 45.9% ground ball rate for the Brewers in 2011. However, a left hamstring strain limited him to just 26 2/3 innings of work. In six MLB seasons with the Brewers, Braves, Red Sox and Dodgers he has a 2.18 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

Saito joins David Hernandez, J.J. Putz, Joe Paterson, Brad Ziegler, Craig Breslow and others in Arizona's projected 2012 bullpen. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers successfully turned a dismal 'pen around last offseason, when he acquired the likes of Hernandez, Putz and Paterson.

Though Saito was a Type A free agent this offseason, the Brewers were contractually prohibited from offering arbitration. They won't obtain a draft pick for losing the right-hander and the D'Backs won't have to surrender one. 

Minor Moves: Mariners, Royals, Jonathan Albaladejo

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We'll keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The Mariners have signed right-hander Josh Kinney to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). The 32-year-old allowed 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings for the White Sox last season, though he did strike out 20 and get a ground ball nearly 60% of the time. It was Kinney's first big league action since 2009.  The Mariners also announced ten other minor league signings: infielder Luis Rodriguez, righties Jeff Marquez, Matt Fox, Jarrett Grube, and Scott Patterson, lefties Steve Garrison, Sean Henn, and Philippe Valiquette, outfielder Darren Ford, and catcher Guillermo Quiroz.  Rodriguez, Marquez, Garrison, and Ford logged time in the Majors this year.
  • The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Juan Gutierrez, left-hander Francisley Bueno, catcher Max Ramirez and outfielder Greg Golson to minor league deals. Golson appeared in nine games with the Yankees in 2011, but they released him last week. Ramirez didn't play in the Major Leagues in 2011, but he has MLB experience with the Rangers.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed Jonathan Albaladejo, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The 29-year-old right-hander spent the 2011 season in Japan after posting a 4.15 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in four seasons with the Nationals and Yankees. The Mets were a finalist for Albaladejo.

National League Non-Tenders

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Here are this year's National League non-tenders. You can also keep track of all teams with our non-tender tracker and check out our list of non-tender candidates:

Quick Hits: Pujols, Wilson, Beltran, Bergesen, Lane

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Fifteen years ago today, the Astros and Tigers swung a nine-player trade. Houston received Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski, and Daryle Ward while Detroit imported Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, and Orlando Miller. It's not often you see a club turnover 20% of its roster in a single deal. Here are some evening links…

  • Albert Pujols' new ten-year contract with the Angels will keep him with the team for another ten years after it expires. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports (on Twitter) that the deal will keep him on board as a consultant to owner Arte Moreno for a decade after his playing days are over.
  • In a second tweet, Gonzalez heard from C.J. Wilson that not only did the Marlins offer him a sixth guaranteed year, but they also offered him an option for a seventh year as well.
  • Even after signing Rafael Furcal to a two-year, $14MM contract, Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter) that the Cardinals remain in contact with free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran. Beltran could step in at right field and help replace some of the offense lost when Pujols left.
  • "I haven't talked to anyone," said non-tender candidate and Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, indicating that he doesn't know what will happen before Monday's deadline to tender contracts to players with less than six years of service time. "I have no idea. I don't know what the plan is. I don't know how they view me or if I fit in their plans. All I can do is prepare myself and be ready for whatever comes my way."
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports that the Diamondbacks have signed former Astros outfielder Jason Lane as a left-handed pitcher. The 34-year-old hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2007, but he made the move to the mound this past season. Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Journal-Review chronicled the conversion back in August.

D’Backs Acquire Cahill, Breslow From A’s

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SATURDAY: Slusser reports that the cash considerations going to the Diamondbacks will be "a couple of hundred thousand dollars."

FRIDAY: As was rumored earlier today, the Diamondbacks have acquired pitchers Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow from the Athletics for minor leaguers Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (Twitter). The Diamondbacks will also receive cash from Oakland, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

The centerpiece of the trade for Arizona is Cahill, a right-handed starter who has logged more than 175 innings in each of his three seasons as a Major Leaguer. The groundballer (53.3% career rate) is under team control at least through 2015 and perhaps through 2017, depending on two club options. He'll join Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson at the top of the D'Backs' rotation, with Josh Collmenter and perhaps (or not) Joe Saunders at the back end.

On a conference call with reporters on Friday night, D'Backs GM Kevin Towers said the timing was right to make a move of this nature:

“A lot of it is just the depth that we have in the system. Certainly, Jarrod Parker was a tough piece to give up, but with Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs and Charles Brewer, we feel we’ve got depth in the starting rotation – also, Wade Miley. We see a window here, specifically in the NL West. We’re kind of in a go-for-it mode.”

Clearly, Cahill will be counted on as one of the mainstays of the D'Backs' rotation, but it wasn't long ago he seemed destined to remain in Oakland after inking a multiyear extension in April:

"I defintely thought I’d be with them a bit longer. But their history is, they usually keep guys when they don’t make too much, then trade them off for prospects. I thought I’d be there longer, but I'm glad to be part of a team that’s headed in the right direction."

Breslow, a lefty reliever, kicked around earlier in his career before latching on with the A's the past three seasons. He's posted a career 3.80 FIP, and with no significant lefty/righty splits, Towers said Breslow will likely be used as a swing lefty out of Kirk Gibson's bullpen in 2012. He is eligible for free agency after 2013.

In Parker, Cowgill and Cook, the A's get three prospects who all have far less than a full season of service time. Of them, Parker, a right-handed starter, is regarded by scouts as having the highest ceiling. Now 24, Parker pitched mostly in the minors in 2011 after missing all of 2010 due to Tommy John surgery. He was ranked No. 19 in Keith Law's top 50 minor league prospects in July.

Cowgill is a 25-year-old outfielder who made his Major League debut in 2011 after posting a .383 career on-base percentage in parts of four minor league seasons. Cook was a starter in the minors before being converted to relief work in 2011. He has a "strong arm, chance for a good slider," tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix first tweeted the rumored trade, and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, Piecoro, Slusser and Gilbert all filled in with details.

Quick Hits: Bell, Reyes, D’Backs, Rox, Rollins

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A handful of odds and ends as Friday night winds down …

  • Joe Frisaro of MLB.com has the breakdown on Heath Bell's and Jose Reyes' respective contracts with the Marlins. Bell's 2015 club option for $9MM will vest if he finishes 55 games in 2014 or 100 games in 2013-14. Reyes will earn a $1MM bonus if he wins a World Series MVP.
  • D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, that he's looking to fortify his bullpen and perhaps add another starting pitcher (Twitter link).
  • The Rockies are looking for a short-term answer at third base so as not to block the path of prospect Nolan Arenado, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro will meet with shortstop Jimmy Rollins' agent, Dan Lozano, on Saturday, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
  • Brewers shortstop Alex Gonzalez told Spanish-language sports talk radio show Los Cronistas in Venezuela that he had offers from the Giants and the Mets but that he chose to sign with Milwaukee because he wanted to be a starter (Twitter links). Thanks to MLBTR's Nick Collias for the translation.

D’Backs May Trade Joe Saunders

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7:38pm: A source tells Piecoro that the Red Sox are one of several teams interested in Saunders (Twitter link).

6:42pm: The Diamondbacks' acquisition of Trevor Cahill may lead them to trade lefty Joe Saunders, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Saunders was considered a non-tender candidate earlier this offseason, but the D'Backs apparently offered him a two-year contract earlier this week. Saunders' camp countered Arizona's offer, but nothing yet has come of that, and during a conference call with reporters to discuss the Cahill trade, D'Backs GM Kevin Towers said there's a "significant gap" between the sides.

MLBTR's arbitration projection pegs Saunders for a salary of $8.7MM in 2012. He's logged no fewer than 186 innings in each of the past four seasons but was worth just 6.6 WAR in that span, according to Fangraphs.

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