Diamondbacks sign Adam LaRoche

SI.com's Jon Heyman is reporting that the Diamondbacks signed free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche to a one year deal worth 5.5 million dollars. LaRoche was believed to be seeking a multi-year deal worth about 8 million dollars, but his two top suitors for most of the offseason, the Braves and Giants, were not willing to offer that much. 

The deal should be finalized by Friday. 

This is a solid signing for the Diamondbacks considering what they had to work with this offseason financially, and should have a positive impact on their lineup. 

The move allows the Diamondbacks to send prospect Brandon Allen back to Triple-A for another year of development, with Conor Jackson moving back to left field. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Eric Byrnes following this move, considering he is now out of a starting job and moved farther down the bench with Gerado Parra putting up a solid 2009 campaign.

Byrnes has one year left on his contract worth 11 million dollars, and Cot's Baseball Contracts says he has some sort of no-trade clause, but does not specify whether or not it is a full no-trade clause.

Byrnes has struggled recently, but the .260 career hitter is a great clubhouse player who in his last full season hit .286 with 21 home runs. 

Would you want your team pursuing Byrnes for an outfield spot?