Kubel will probably benefit from the move, Target is supposed to be pretty tough on hitters, and the effect on Kubel has been somewhat severe over the last two years.

That said, I think this move makes the D-backs ever so slightly worse over the course of his two year deal. Kubel’s defense isn’t as bad as some people think (he’s probably on the low end of average) but the D-backs are obviously betting on Kubel returning to his pre-target field numbers, while also staying healthy (something he’s found difficult to do over his career.) I don’t think that’s a very good bet.

Parra doesn’t hit for much power, but he hits for better average. That, coupled with his excellent defense, make this deal, at best, a push, albeit with the D-backs having 14 million less to spend on other pieces. Parra is a young, athletic player; Kubel has always been described as a player with “old” skills, and I’d bet he’s already peaked, and entering his age 30 season is already on the decline.

Meh. Seems like a rare recent mistake for the D’backs. I don’t see him being a significant upgrade and they’ve tied up some of their scarce $$$ on him. For about an extra $8-9M they could possibly have signed Beltran to a 2 year deal. That would have been scary for us Giants fans.

Kubel’s been slightly above-average with the bat and worse than useless in the field. He doesn’t run particularly well either. Nor do I understand why Kevin Towers looked at Upton, Young, Goldschmidt, and Montero and thought “This lineup needs power” because that’s the only thing Kubel does well. They need short-term rotation depth and maybe a reliever – in any case, pitching is the name of the game, and they spent a bunch of money on a guy who isn’t a sure upgrade. Putting Parra in a 4th OF role is a nice depth move, but they shouldn’t be spending $15M over two years for nice depth moves.

I’d rather have Kubel over Melky or Pagan talent wise. He’s very servicable and gritty. Though, its nice to see someone else on the other end of these uglyish contract$.