UPDATE: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the deal is for two years and $15.5 million. That seems like a bargain in this market. Dan Haren -- who also has some health questions -- got almost that much for one year. But it does conform with Kevin Towers’ self-imposed rule on pitcher contracts.
5:27 PM: John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR in Phoenix is reporting that the Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with starter Brandon McCarthy. The financial terms of the deal are not yet known. At one point this winter it was reported that Kevin Towers was unwilling to offer more than two years for a starting pitcher, but then again, people say a lot of things.
Interesting choice for both McCarthy and the Diamondbacks. For McCarthy, he goes from a pitchers park with a stellar defensive outfield to a hitters park where Jason Kubel calls home. For the Diamonbacks, you have to wonder if this doesn’t signal the end of those Mega Trade rumors, seeing as those have all involved, to some degree or another, a pitcher going to Arizona. But now you gotta wonder if they may use some starting pitching depth to flip for that shortstop they’ve been wanting.
McCarthy posted a 3.24 ERA and 73/24 K/BB ratio over 111 innings with the A’s this past season.
