PHOENIX - 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 Monday afternoon in Phoenix.
Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers, reached on his cellphone 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.
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