D-backs talking to Bartolo Colon
PHOENIX — Could Bartolo Colon be the fifth starter the D-backs have been looking for?
The D-backs seem to believe so as a baseball source said they were in talks to sign the right-hander.
Colon was 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA in 29 games (26 starts) for the Yankees last season. The 38-year-old did not pitch in 2010 and signed a Minor League deal with the Yankees after undergoing stem cell treatment for elbow and rotator cuff injuries.
Thanks to a strong performance in the spring, Colon made the Yankees roster and was an effective starter before seeming to tire down the stretch. In September, Colon posted a 5.96 ERA and was not added to the team’s postseason roster.
The D-backs rotation currently consists of Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Trevor Cahill and Josh Collmenter with the fifth spot set to come from a group of young pitchers that includes among others Wade Miley, Barry Enright, Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Bauer and Charles Brewer.
Given the youth and inexperience of that group, the D-backs had hoped to add a veteran fifth starter as added depth in case none of the young starters were able to make the jump to the big leagues.
– Steve Gilbert
D-backs agree to terms with Kubel
PHOENIX — The D-backs have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Jason Kubel on a two-year contract with an option, a baseball source confirmed Monday.
The move is somewhat surprising in that the D-backs had not been linked in any rumors to Kubel, nor had it seemed were they in the market for an outfielder.
Kubel, 29, hit .273 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs for the Twins in 2011. He was originally drafted by Minnesota in the 12th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
Kubel’s best season came in 2009 when he hit .300 with 28 homers, 103 RBIs and a career-best .907 OPS (on-base plus slugging). Over the last five seasons he has an OPS+ of over 100. OPS+ is a weighted metric that takes into account a multitude of factors and mark of 100 is considered average. Last season, Kubel’s OPS+ was 111.
Over his career, Kubel has split his time between right and left fields. With the D-backs, it would appear that he would become the starting left fielder with Gerardo Parra being shifted to a fourth outfield position or used in a trade to acquire another position of need.
Parra won a Gold Glove for his work in left last year and he hit .292 with eight homers and 46 RBIs. He can play all three outfield positions well making him an ideal backup. How many opportunities there will be, though, remains to be seen. Center fielder Chris Young played in 156 games last year while right fielder Justin Upton appeared in 159.
– Steve Gilbert
D-backs closing in on deal with Takashi Saito
PHOENIX — The D-backs are closing in on a one-year deal with free agent reliever Takashi Saito, a baseball source confirmed Monday.
Saito, 41, was 4-2 with a 2.03 ERA for the Brewers in 2011 while being limited to 30 games with oblique and calf issues.
In six seasons, the Japanese born right-hander has a 2.18 ERA and 84 saves. He had a career-best 39 saves with the Dodgers in 2007.
The D-backs had been in the market for a veteran reliever to pitch in a setup role and Saito certainly fits the bill. They expressed interest in him during last week’s Winter Meetings, but GM Kevin Towers wanted to wait until getting a veteran starting pitcher signed so he knew how much money he would have left in his budget.
– Steve Gilbert
D-backs to acquire Cahill
By Steve Gilbert and Jane Lee
The A’s and D-backs are closing in on a deal that will send right-hander Trevor Cahill and lefty reliever Craig Breslow to Arizona, MLB.com learned on Friday.
In return, Oakland is expected to receive prized pitching prospect Jarrod Parker and outfielder Collin Cowgill, baseball sources confirmed. Another player could also be heading Oakland’s way in the multi-player package.
Cahill, who would fortify an already strong D-backs rotation, is owed $29 million over the next four years in a deal that also includes two club options. Oakland’s decision to move the 23-year-old only further represents their latest attempt at a rebuild while they wait word on a new stadium.
After a career 2010 season, which included an 18-8 record and 2.97 ERA, Cahill took a downturn in 2011, collecting a 12-14 mark and 4.16 ERA. However, he made a career-high 34 starts and has made at least 30 starts in each of his three big league seasons.
The 31-year-old Breslow is arbitration-eligible and has served as one of the game’s best left-handed relievers over the past three seasons, most recently putting together a 3.79 ERA in 69 games this season.
By reeling in Parker, a first-round Draft pick in 2007, the A’s get what’s considered to be Arizona’s top prospect. Following rehab from his 2010 Tommy John surgery, the 23-year-old right-hander posted an 11-8 record and 3.79 ERA for Arizona’s Double-A club this year.
Cowgill, meanwhile, batted .354 with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs in 98 games at the Triple-A level. He appeared in 36 contests with Arizona, hitting .239 with one homer and nine RBIs.
Saunders wants to stay with D-backs
Spoke with D-backs lefty Joe Saunders this morning who said he’s still hopeful of returning to the team. Saunders is eligible for salary arbitration and could command a salary of between $8 million to $9 million. The team seems interested in signing him to a two-year deal more so than paying what it would cost to go through arbitration with him.
“I do want to stay here,” Saunders said. “It’s just a matter of if the D-backs want to bring me back.”
The D-backs have until Dec. 12 to tender Saunders. If they decide to non-tender him he would become a free agent.
– Steve Gilbert
D-backs/Blue Jays Trade
The D-backs sent second baseman Kelly Johnson to the Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for infielders Aaron Hill and John McDonald.
Johnson was hitting .209 with 18 homers and 49 RBIs for Arizona.
Hill was hitting .225 with six homers and 45 RBIs for the Jays while McDonald was batting .250 with two homers and 20 RBIs.
D-backs come out winners at deadline
The early returns are in on the non-waiver trade deadline winners and losers and while their moves didn’t attract a lot of attention nationally in terms of big-named players, they certainly were winners.
Look, the D-backs could have made a big splash, could have gone out and gotten a bigger name for the rotation or the bullpen, but they simply were not going to trade their top tier prospects.
So at the end of the day, the team gave up very little — maybe infielder Zach Walters ends up being a contributor at the big league level — and made themselves better in two spots.
Jason Marquis will help shore up the backend of the rotation while Brad Ziegler gives them another option in the seventh inning, something the bullpen desperately needed.
Is it enough to catch the Giants? Time will tell, but they are certainly better Monday than they were on Sunday.
D-backs acquire Ziegler
LOS ANGELES — One day after solidifying the backend of their starting rotation with Jason Marquis the D-backs bolstered their bullpen Sunday by acquiring reliever Brad Ziegler from the A’s in exchange for first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto.
The side-arming right-hander was 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 43 games for the A’s this season and is 11-13 with a 2.49 ERA in 223 games over his four-year career.
The backend of the D-backs bullpen has been a strength this year with setup man David Hernandez and closer J.J. Putz providing a solid one-two punch. However past those two, the team has struggled to find consistency.
Additional depth was also a need given that this is Hernandez’s first year as reliever and the team wants to make sure he can handle the intense workload.
The 31-year-old Ziegler garnered national attention in 2008 when he set the Major League record for scoreless innings to begin a career at 39.
Matt Williams suffers broken foot
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — D-backs third base coach Matt Williams said he has a broken right foot, the result of being hit by a ball during a soft toss drill.
Williams was spotted limping between practice fields Wednesday with a walking boot on his right leg.
The incident occurred he said a couple of days ago. How long it will prevent him from coaching third base is unknown.
This will be Williams first year coaching third base in the Majors.
Gibson talks about rules, roster
28 days until Opening Day
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Kirk Gibson had a lot of really interesting things to say during his media sessions with us Thursday in Peoria that I didn’t have a place for in my stories. Here’s some of what he had to say…
– On whether guys were starting to make a push for spots on the roster: “The book is just starting. I don’t think we’re close to a point where we could even make a good calculated decision.”
– There has been a lot of talk this spring and even over the winter about Gibson’s rules about cell phone use and the banning of pellet guns and the like in the clubhouse.
It seems to be a subject that Gibson is getting tired of revisiting.
“I don’t think I’ve been tough at all,” he said of his rules. “I think I’ve been fair. We just kind of said there are certain things we want to abide by and do. It’s not a big deal, it’s just like business as usual.”
Gibson also has emphasized that the rules were decided on after consultation with managing general partner Ken Kendrick, president/CEO Derrick Hall, GM Kevin Towers and his coaching staff.
“These are not just my rules,” Gibson said. “We sat down as an organization and talked about some important things. We had a lot of conversations, people had input and we sat there and said this is what we’re going to go with. Once the decision was made we moved on.”
It doesn’t sound like guys will be having their cell phones ringing in the clubhouse.
“You’re talking to somebody in the clubhouse, your phone rings and you go get it, I think it’s rude No. 1,” Gibson said. “Other people are having a conversation next to you and phones are going off, I don’t like it. It just gets to be too much for me. When we’re in here it’s pretty much a baseball environment let’s focus on that if you need to make a call just walk outside and make a call.”
– As much as Gibson has refrained from talking about the past, he did let a little slip near the end of his talk about rules and cell phones when he talked about preparing for games differently: “We definitely need to do a better job because the way we did do it sure in the heck didn’t work.”
– Sparky Anderson was obviously a big influence on Gibson and he quoted him when talking about privileges for his players.
“Sparky taught us a long time ago, you start with nothing and you earn everything,” he said.
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Looks like Zach Duke will pitch down in Tucson during Monday’s split squad game with Aaron Heilman working the game against the Royals in Surprise.
Steve Gilbert
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