Written by Amit Lal | 14 January 2010

The Diamondbacks have signed former Pirate and Brave 1B Adam LaRoche to a one year contract worth around $4-5M. LaRoche hit .277/.355/.488 with 25 HR and 83 RBI in 2009, and is a career .274/.343/.491 hitter. He has been remarkably consistent over the last 4 years, hitting between .270 and .285 each season, with an OBP between .340 and .355. He has also hit at least 20 HR for 5 consecutive seasons. This signing probably means that Brandon Allen will start the season in AAA, and that Conor Jackson will be the starter in LF. The lineup now looks like this: C Miguel Montero 1B Adam LaRoche 2B Kelly Johnson SS Stephen Drew 3B Mark Reynolds LF Conor Jackson CF Chris Young RF Justin Upton Bench: Chris Snyder, Tony Abreu, Augie Ojeda, Gerardo Parra (or Ryan Roberts), Eric Byrnes (leaving Brandon Allen, Rusty Ryal, and Parra or Roberts in AAA). The team is still hoping to unload Eric Byrnes, but his contract makes him virtually untradeable.