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The Cleveland Indians added an outfield bat for the stretch drive Thursday night when they acquired Jason Kubel from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona will get cash and a minor league player to be named in return, a Major League Baseball source told ESPN.com.
Kubel, 31, is a career .265 hitter with 139 homers over nine seasons with Minnesota and Arizona. He hit 30 homers and drove in 90 runs for Arizona in 2012, but his numbers had fallen off drastically this season while he dealt with a series of leg injuries.
Kubel hit .220 with five home runs in 89 games with the Diamondbacks, playing sparingly this month as Gerardo Parra, Adam Eaton, A.J. Pollock and Tony Campana logged the bulk of the outfield at-bats for manager Kirk Gibson. The Diamondbacks designated Kubel for assignment earlier this week before working out a deal with Cleveland.
The Indians, four games behind Oakland in the race for the second AL wild-card spot, are in need of help offensively. They're last in the league with a .650 team OPS in August and are tied with Tampa Bay for fewest runs scored with 85 this month. The Indians were outscored 8-3 while losing three straight games in Atlanta this week.
Kubel is making $7.5 million this season in the final year of a two-year, $16 million contract. His deal includes a $7.5 million mutual option and a $1 million buyout for 2014.
The Diamondbacks will pay the "vast majority" of Kubel's remaining salary and buyout and will be getting a lower-tier prospect from Cleveland in the trade, the source said.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/96...a-diamondbacks
Arizona will get cash and a minor league player to be named in return, a Major League Baseball source told ESPN.com.
Kubel, 31, is a career .265 hitter with 139 homers over nine seasons with Minnesota and Arizona. He hit 30 homers and drove in 90 runs for Arizona in 2012, but his numbers had fallen off drastically this season while he dealt with a series of leg injuries.
Kubel hit .220 with five home runs in 89 games with the Diamondbacks, playing sparingly this month as Gerardo Parra, Adam Eaton, A.J. Pollock and Tony Campana logged the bulk of the outfield at-bats for manager Kirk Gibson. The Diamondbacks designated Kubel for assignment earlier this week before working out a deal with Cleveland.
The Indians, four games behind Oakland in the race for the second AL wild-card spot, are in need of help offensively. They're last in the league with a .650 team OPS in August and are tied with Tampa Bay for fewest runs scored with 85 this month. The Indians were outscored 8-3 while losing three straight games in Atlanta this week.
Kubel is making $7.5 million this season in the final year of a two-year, $16 million contract. His deal includes a $7.5 million mutual option and a $1 million buyout for 2014.
The Diamondbacks will pay the "vast majority" of Kubel's remaining salary and buyout and will be getting a lower-tier prospect from Cleveland in the trade, the source said.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/96...a-diamondbacks