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Diamondbacks Sign Jason Kubel

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The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Jason Kubel, tweets Tom Krasovic.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who confirmed the agreement earlier today, now tweets that it's official and that Kubel has passed his physical.  Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says the deal is worth $15MM.  The Wasserman Media Group client obtained a two-year deal with a mutual option for 2014.

Kubel

Kubel, 29, will play left field for the Diamondbacks according to Rosenthal.  The surprising acquisition likely pushes Gerardo Parra to a fourth outfielder role, meaning Arizona is sacrificing defense and hoping for more offense.  Perhaps Parra, a 2011 Gold Glove winner, will become a trade target for other clubs.  Kubel hit .273/.332/.434 in 401 plate appearances for the Twins this year, missing nearly two months with a left foot sprain.

Kubel spent his entire career with the Twins after being drafted in the 12th round in 2000.  His best season came in 2009, when he hit .300/.369/.539 with 28 home runs.  The Twins signed him to a two-year, $7.2MM extension in January of '09 and later exercised a $5.25MM option for 2011.  The Twins had interest in re-signing him, especially after Michael Cuddyer inked a deal with Colorado.  The Indians and Phillies also inquired on Kubel this offseason.  The Twins will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.

Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has committed $36.75MM this offseason to free agents Kubel, Aaron Hill, Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald, Takashi Saito, Henry Blanco, and Lyle Overbay, as our free agent tracker shows.  He also acquired Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow in a trade with the Athletics.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Top Bidder For Darvish To Be Announced Tonight

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10:04pm: A Darvish announcement of some sort appears to be coming in about ten minutes, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter)

8:42pm: MLB won't announce which team won the bidding until Nippon announces that it accepted the bid (assuming the team accepts), Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News clarifies (on Twitter).  The Fighters do not know the identity of the team that won the bid.

6:15pm: The Fighters have "definitely" decided to accept the winning bid, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets.

4:04pm: No firm time is set for the announcement, according to Morosi (Twitter links).  He notes that MLB officials are still waiting for word from Darvish's team and adds that it's just 7am in Japan.

7:40am: The Nippon Ham Fighters will announce their acceptance of the high bidder and the winning team for Yu Darvish tonight, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, referencing agent Don Nomura.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that the announcement will be around 7-8pm central time.  Rumors so far suggest the Blue Jays or Rangers won the bid at an amount exceeding $51MM.

Seeking Part-Time Writers For New NBA Rumors Website

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I'm making my first foray into another sport, as we're launching a new NBA rumors website early in 2012, in the mold of MLBTR.  Luke Adams will be the site's full-time writer and editor, and we're looking to build a team of part-time contributors who will be paid hourly.  The criteria:

  • Knowledge of all 30 NBA teams, no discernible bias. Knowledge of transaction-related concepts.
  • Writing experience is necessary and online writing experience is preferred.
  • Attention to detail – absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names.  Ability to follow the site's style and tone.
  • Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news in a few paragraphs.  We need the best of both worlds: quick writing with thoughtful analysis.  You must be able to add value to breaking news with your own insight, numbers, or links to other relevant articles.
  • Ability to use an RSS feed reader such as Google Reader.  Ability to use Twitter.  Both of these are crucial.
  • Strong evening availability – typically 5-11pm central time shifts.  Writers covering Monday through Friday evenings will change week to week, but we'd also like people to regularly take specific weekend daytime shifts.
  • At least some college education is required.
  • If you're interested, email basketballapplications@gmail.com and take a couple paragraphs to explain how you qualify and stand out. Many will likely apply, so unfortunately we cannot respond to most applications.

Sitting Out Free Agency

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Four teams have yet to sign a free agent to a Major League deal, according to our free agent tracker: the Braves, Astros, Athletics, and Blue Jays.  A closer look:

  • Braves: So far, the Braves' offseason has consisted of exercising a $1.5MM option on Eric Hinske, ridding themselves of $5MM of Derek Lowe's contract, taking Robert Fish in the Rule 5 draft, and signing players to minor league deals.  The Braves have the starting pitching depth for another trade, perhaps involving Jair Jurrjens.  Martin Prado has also been mentioned in many rumors.  The Braves are looking to add a traditional backup shortstop on a one-year deal, and Ronny Cedeno is a candidate.  The Braves don't seem to have any huge needs, so perhaps their inactivity is justified.
  • Astros:  As you might expect, the rebuilding Astros focused on finding a new GM rather than signing Major League free agents.  Prior to the hiring of Jeff Luhnow, the team added Brian Bixler and Craig Tatum on waiver claims, took Rhiner Cruz in the Rule 5 draft, and signed a slew of minor league free agents.  Luhnow made a splash right out of the gate, acquiring Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland in a trade with the Red Sox for Mark Melancon.  I imagine he'll continue to shop Wandy Rodriguez. 
  • Athletics:  This offseason the A's picked up some cash for reliever Trystan Magnuson, but more notably traded Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to the Diamondbacks for prospects.  The A's are tearing down the team as they hope for approval to move to San Jose, and Andrew Bailey and Gio Gonzalez could be next to go.
  • Blue Jays:  The Jays have been active in routes other than free agency.  They picked up Edwin Encarnacion's $3.5MM option, made several waiver claims and traded for Magnuson, Sergio Santos, Luis Valbuena, Jeff Mathis, and Ben Francisco.  They were a finalist for Mat Latos, and we'll know soon whether they'll spend the next 30 days negotiating with Yu Darvish.  Additionally, second baseman Kelly Johnson accepted arbitration and is under team control for next year.

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.

MLBTR Text Message Alerts

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Want to be the first to know which team won the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish?  MLBTR is already coming at you from many angles, and today we're going to start dabbling with text message alerts for your mobile phone.  We'll likely try this for the remainder of the offseason and determine the interest level at that point.

If you'd like to receive a text message on your cell phone for each significant MLB transaction, just text IMS2 MLBTR to 368674.  It's not case-sensitive but please note the space between "IMS2" and "MLBTR."  Each news text message will likely include a sponsored message at the end.  To comply with FCC text message regulations you are required to double opt-in by replying with a 1, then a yes to subscribe.  Once you successfully opt in, you'll receive a message that says "Thank you for subscribing!"

The service is free, though standard message and data rates may apply.  Your information will never shared or sold to third parties.  The MLBTR service will not work if your carrier is MetroPCS.

Dodgers Sign John Grabow

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The Dodgers signed lefty reliever John Grabow to a minor league deal, tweeted John Scanlan on Saturday.  This morning, MLBTR confirmed the transaction.  The deal includes an invitation to Major League camp, notes Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.

Grabow, 33, was acquired by the Cubs from the Pirates in July of '09.  He signed a two-year, $7.5MM extension four months later.  Over those two seasons Grabow posted a 5.52 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, and 1.4 HR/9 in 88 innings, missing time with knee and shoulder injuries.

Padres To Sign Jeremy Hermida

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The Padres reached an agreement with outfielder Jeremy Hermida on a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  They had non-tendered him last week.  Hermida, a former Marlins top prospect, hit .319/.400/.524 in 450 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate this year.  The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Padres in August and designated for assignment in early December upon the team's acquisition of Huston Street.  Hermida received some feelers from Japanese teams this offseason, Crasnick notes.

Free $400 Fantasy Football Contest (Sponsored Post)

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Looking to show off your fantasy football genius this week?  Try DraftStreet, where you can put together a new fantasy team each week and compete against other users for real money.

Right now DraftStreet has an NFL freeroll for MLB Trade Rumors readers, meaning you can take a shot at a chunk of the $400 prize pool for free, with no strings attached.  Here's how it works.

The NFL freeroll begins Sunday at 1:00pm eastern time, so you have until then to create your team.  You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet.  Your roster will cover these positions: 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 2 FLEX, and 1 Defense.  You get points based on how your team performs through Monday night's game.  The teams with the most points get the prize money.  Below is a screenshot of a sample roster: 

Draftstreet

If you're interested, sign up and create a roster prior to Sunday's games (1:00pm eastern time).  It's quick, easy, fun, and the MLBTR league gives you a free chance to win some of the $400 prize pool.  If you enjoy the competition you can try other leagues (college football, for example) for free and earn credits, or deposit real money.

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