According to beat writer Nick Piecoro, the Arizona Diamondbacks have come to terms with second baseman Aaron Hill.
The deal is reportedly worth just over $10 million for two years and shores up the D-backs infield for 2012. As Arizona GM Kevin Towers mentioned on Friday, the offer to Hill would have expired shortly after the weekend. Now that Hill will return, the offseason focus will move on to looking at veteran free agent pitchers.
The Diamondbacks will see their 2011 infield return. Along with Hill manning second base, they will have Paul Goldschmidt at first, Ryan Roberts at third and Stephen Drew returning from injury to be the everyday shortstop. If Drew manages to come back completely healthy, the D-backs will have a lot of depth in the infield with Geoff Blum able to back up Roberts at 3B, John McDonald as the backup shortstop, Willie Bloomquist as the utility infielder and the very likely possibility of either Xavier Nady or Lyle Overbay returning to back up Goldschmidt.
The 2012 Diamondbacks are shaping up to look very much like the 2011 model, which should be good news for Arizona fans hoping for another run at the postseason.
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