In a town that seems to thrive on aging athletes, the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed 38-year-old Melvin Mora to play the third base position so recently vacated by the Mark Reynolds trade. Both the one-year contract that Mora signed and the Reynolds trade with the Orioles for right-handed pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio have now been officially announced by Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers.
Mora has played for three different teams in his 12-year career. He started with the Mets before playing the bulk of his time with the Orioles and then played in Colorado last season. He hit .285 with 45 RBI in 113 games for the Rockies. Mostly playing third base, More had just five errors and a .957 fielding percentage.
For his long career, he's averaged .278 at the plate with a 171 total home runs, 738 RBI, 518 walks and 93 stolen bases. He's played in at least 110 games for seven straight seasons. Most importantly for the Diamondbacks, he's recorded only 99 strikeouts per 162 games as opposed to the 221 punch outs per 162 games that Reynolds threw up.
Mora gives the Diamondbacks an upgrade defensively along with a guy who will hit for contact but far less power. He also gives the young Diamondbacks infield a veteran who's been around the block once or 27 times.
With the trade for Reynolds, the Diamondback improve their bullpen by adding two power right-handed arms who can come in and get strikeouts in late inning situations. The team is also saving about $12 million by replacing Reynolds $14 million salary with $2 million for Mora and the Hernandez-Mickolio combination of less than $1 million in payroll.