Source: http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/151054 翻译请往下走... D-Backs shift gears, agree to terms with Kubel Tired of waiting around in their pursuit for pitching help, the Diamondbacks shifted gears and went after a bat, agreeing to terms with free agent outfielder Jason Kubel on a two-year deal worth more than $15 million. The deal is pending a physical scheduled for this afternoon in Phoenix. Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers, reached on his cell phone in Paris , where he and his wife are vacationing, said the club had a "significant" offer out to free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda for "10 days to two weeks" before signing Kubel. "We still want to improve our club instead of sitting on our hands," Towers said. "We didn't want to miss out on all the good players that are out there. We saw (Kubel) was still out there and we went after him." Kubel had three consecutive 20-plus homer seasons before 2011, when he hit .273 with 12 homers and a .766 OPS in 366 at-bats. He missed close to two months with an ankle injury. The signing comes as a surprise, not only in that the Diamondbacks seemed focused on pitching but because they seemed set with position players, including in the outfield. Kubel apparently will become the everyday left fielder with Gerardo Parra, who won a Gold Glove award this season, being pushed into a fourth outfielder role. Towers didn't rule out the idea of a trade but sounded more intent on keeping the depth the Kubel acquisition created. "As you well know, nobody is given a job here," Towers said. "Parra is still very much a part of this club and was a big part last year. You can't have enough good players. You have to have depth. We did that with the infield, too. We'll see how things play out in spring training and how they go along. As of right now, adding Kubel adds another corner bat. Parra is still somebody we think a lot of." The Diamondbacks now have 14 veteran position players under contract for next season, which creates a logjam on the Opening Day roster, assuming shortstop Stephen Drew is fully recovered from his ankle injury. "A lot depends on Stephen's health," Towers said. "If Stephen's not healthy, there's a spot for everybody. If he is, somebody's going to have to go at some point." Kubel's deal includes a mutual option for 2014 that includes a buyout that's worth less than $1 million, according to a source. Even after trading for right-hander Trevor Cahill and signing reliever Takashi Saito earlier this month, the Diamondbacks had been focused on upgrading their starting rotation, targeting Kuroda. Towers said he started talking with Kubel's agent a few days ago – at that point, he and his wife were in Bruges, Belgium – and then made one last call to Kuroda's camp. "They said they still needed more time so we withdrew our offer," Towers said. "I think all along we were a club that (Kuroda) had a lot of interest in, but when you got close to two weeks and still couldn't get a "yes, we didn't want to risk waiting much longer. "I kind of got fed up. I didn't like sitting here on Kuroda. My gut was, the longer this thing goes, it's not good." At the same time, Towers looked at what Kubel's addition could mean to the Diamondbacks lineup. He sees it looking something like this (assuming Drew's healthy): Drew, Hill, Montero, Upton, Goldschmidt, Kubel, Young, Roberts. "That's a pretty good lineup," Towers said. Meanwhile, he believes in his young core of pitching prospects, so much so that he doesn't feel adding another starter is an absolute must. "It's showing confidence in our young guys," Towers said. "We've got three (Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Cahill) and with Collmenter, who is very deserving, and between (Trevor) Bauer, (Pat) Corbin, (Wade) Miley, (Tyler) Skaggs, those guys are going to get a crack at it. It's a great opportunity for them." Towers said it's possible he scours the starting pitching market for bargains before the season but doesn't seem to view it as an area of need. 对追求投手感到疲惫，小蛇转移目标签下棒子，同意以两年超过15M的价码签下Kubel，待 今天下午体检通过即可生效。 KT在巴黎过爽日子时接受电话专访表示：「小蛇在签下Kubel前，老早已经提供了一张大 约给黑田桑，我们仍然想补强，而不是坐着空等，我们不想坐以待毙地失去市场上所有的 好球员，Kubel还在那里，所以我们改追他。」 Kubel曾经连续三季击出20发以上的全垒打，这纪录止步於2011年，脚踝伤势使他报销两 个月，在366个打数中缴出AVG 0.273/12HR/OPS 0.766的成绩。 这交易令人惊讶，因为小蛇一直被认为仅聚焦於投手补强，而且包含外野手在内的各位置 ，球员名单似乎早已大致底定，Kubel无疑将会成为先发左外野手，这将使本季夺得金手 套的Parra被挤成第四号外野手。 KT不排除交易的可能性，但听起来更想保持阵容深度，尽管Kubel入手後。 「就像你知道的一样，没有人在这里能保证有头路，Parra仍然是小蛇重要的一份子，而 且过去一年表现真的令人激赏；你无法拥有足够的好球员，但你必须拥有深度，我们对内 野阵容也有同样的态度，我们将看到事情如何在春训时落幕，还有他们将如何合作，现在 ，Kubel加盟增添了另一支角落棒子， 而我们认为Parra还是会受到重用。」 下季的小蛇已握有14名老将合约，假设Drew踝伤能完全康复，开幕战名单势必竞争激烈。 「Drew的健康至关重要，如果Drew没康复，每个人就有位置抢；反之，某人则将另做他用 。」 Kubel的合约包含2014年的共同选择权，内含小於1M的买断金额。 尽管本月稍早交易来Cahill和签下斋藤大叔，小蛇仍然聚焦於升级先发轮值，瞄准黑田。 KT提到几天前他才与Kubel的经纪人开始谈话，在此同时，他和老婆在比利时给了黑田阵 营最後一通电话，「但他们回覆仍需要更多时间考虑， 所以我们撤销了出价。」 「我想我们始终是黑田有兴趣效力的球队之一，但当你花了近两周时间却还换不到一个 yes，我们就不想冒任何风险做任何的等待；我等到有点发胖了，我不喜欢一直坐着这里 等黑田的感觉，因为事情拖久就没有好下场。」 KT看到Kubel的加入，意味着小蛇打序的成型：Drew、Hill、Montero、Upton、 Goldschmidt、Kubel、Young及Roberts。 「这真是华丽的打线阿。」 同时，他深信以年轻新星为核心所构筑的投手阵容，以至於他认为再增加另一名先发投手 并没有绝对的必要性。 我对我们的年轻家伙们很有自信，我们已经有了大三元(Ian Kennedy、Daniel Hudson、 Cahill)和劳苦功高的Collmenter；Bauer、Corbin、Miley和Skaggs正往第一流的水准迈 进，这对他们来说是力争上游的绝佳机会。 KT说在季前他可能翻遍了先发投手市场的报价，但似乎没必要从中找寻可用之兵。 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 125.231.135.79 ※ 编辑: reasonchen 来自: 125.231.135.79 (12/20 21:14)