PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks took advantage of the first lull in the postseason to unveil the initial phase of their restructuring Saturday.
Chris Young was traded to Oakland, paving the way for Adam Eaton to start in center field next year.
Former All-Star closer Heath Bell was acquired from Miami, further bolstering a bullpen that was solidified when the D-backs picked up J.J. Putz’s option earlier in the day. Bell was a star under general manager Kevin Towers in San Diego before struggling in Miami last year.
And Cliff Pennington was acquired from Oakland as a safety net at shortstop,
a candidate to start and/or split time with Willie Bloomquist unless
the D-backs are able to acquire another shortstop later this winter.
"We feel pretty good where we are right now,” Towers said. " I hate to say we’re set. You always have to keep an open mind."
The D-backs remain in the market for a left-handed relief specialist and a starting pitcher and will continue to listen at shortstop and third base. Even with Young gone, the D-backs could deal from their outfield strength. They have five outfielders -- Justin Upton, Jason Kubel, Gerardo Parra, A.J. Pollock and Eaton -- and usually carry four.
The Young move seemed inevitable after Eaton, the Pacific Coast League MVP at Reno, played well in his September callup and 2009 No. 1 draft pick Pollock showed he had little left to prove in the minors. Eaton hit .259, and with his ability to work counts and steal bases, he gives the D-backs a prototype leadoff hitter, the kind they have lacked in most of their 15-year existence. He also played well defensively and exhibited a positive swagger and enthusiasm. At the same time, Towers also said Parra and Pollock could play in center.
“We’re not going to hand the job to anyone,” Towers said.
The D-backs will pay $13 million of the $21 million owed Bell in the final two years of the free-agent contract he signed with the Marlins last season. They offset most of that expense by trading Young, who is to make $8.5 million in 2013 and has an $11 million option with a $1.5 million buyout in 2014. The D-backs are also sending $500,000 to the A's.
Bell and Towers go back a long way, and Bell is one of gunslinger Towers’ most notable finds, acquired by the Padres before the 2007 season. He figures to slot in with David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler in a seventh- or eighth-inning role, the spot the D-backs envisioned for Takashi Saito before he flamed out in 2012.
Bell, 35, served an apprenticeship as a setup man under closer Trevor Hoffman before taking over as the Padres closer 2009. He had 42, 47 and 43 saves from 2009-11 and was an All-Star each year. Bell finished eighth in the Cy Young Award voting in 2010, when he was 6-1 with 47 saves with a 1.93 ERA as the Padres won 90 games and came within a last-game loss of making the playoffs.
Bell was not a good fit in Miami, where he was 4-5 with 19 saves and a 5.09 ERA. He struggled early and lost his job as closer.
“Adding another veteran arm to our bullpen should serve to shorten the game for us,” Towers said. "The back end of the bullpen is very important. The good teams, that’s how you win. To develop young pitching, you have to have a solid bullpen. I think we had one of best, not only in the National League but in baseball.”
Towers said he told Bell that Putz was the closer and to expect opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings, with perhaps an occasional save opportunity if Putz was unavailable.
Pennington, a switch-hitter, hit .215 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 2012. He started at second base in the ALDS after the A’s acquired shortstop Stephen Drew in early August. Pennington, who made $490,000 in 2012, is in his first year of arbitration eligibility.
“Cliff is a blue-collar-type player with postseason experience. He provides us with depth up the middle and versatility at the plate,” Towers said.
Young grew up in the D-backs’ organization after being acquired from the White Sox before the 2006 season. He was a part of NL West title teams in 2007 and 2011, and he was the first rookie in major league history to have at least 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 2007, when he had 32 and 27, respectively.
Young will be reunited with manager Bob Melvin, his first D-backs manager, and said he believes he is joining a team that has a lot of similarities to the D-backs’ 2007 and 2011 pennant winners. Oakland is coming off a Cinderella season in which it won the NL West on the last day of the regular season and took Detroit to five games in the ALDS.
“They had the same type of energy over there," Young said. "People don’t believe you have the right pieces to make it to the playoffs and you are able to come together and beat all the odds. It’s about believing in yourselves and playing hard. That’s really exciting to me."
After playing with a thumb/wrist injury the second half of 2011, Young was off to a tremendous start this season, with four doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI in his first 11 games. He suffered a ligament tear in his right shoulder when he ran into the fence catching a fly ball against the Pirates on April 17, and he was never the same. Young missed a month with the shoulder injury and hit .231 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in 325 at-bats.
He is among the D-backs’ top three in career games, homers, RBI, doubles and walks.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to miss it,” Young said, “but this is also a new opportunity for me and a new challenge. I’m ready to step up to that.”
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