--The Diamondbacks have shown interest in RHP Chad Cordero, and they attended his two flat-ground throwing sessions in California on Jan. 7 and Jan. 9. Cordero had 127 saves from 2003-07 but missed almost all of the 2008 season with a torn labrum that was surgically repaired July 8. He likely will seek a contract that would include performance bonuses, deals the D-backs have not done in the past. Arizona traded for RHP Jon Rauch, the man who replaced Cordero as Washington's closer last season. Rauch will begin this season as a setup man but could be considered as a closer candidate.
--The Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority is considering a proposal to let a Japanese pro team train in Tucson to give the city a third team in 2010. The D-backs and Rockies will the only major league teams in Tucson this spring after the White Sox paid $5 million to buy out the remaining four years of their least at the Kino Sports Complex and move to Glendale, Ariz., where they will share a facility with the Dodgers. The D-backs have shared a facility with the White Sox in Tucson since 1998. --C Jae Yun Kim is the D-backs' first Korean player since they signed RHP Byung-Hyun Kim in 1997. Jae Yun Kim played for the gold-medal-winning Korean under-18 team last summer in the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, last summer. Director of Pacific Rim operations Mack Hayashi and scout Chad MacDonald were instrumental in signing Kim, general manager Josh Byrnes said.
--LHP Travis Blackley could contend for the final spot in the rotation after being signed as a minor league free agent this winter. Blackley, 26, was 5-10 with a 5.41 ERA for Class AAA Lehigh Valley in the Philadelphia organization in 2008, striking out 87 in 123 innings. He has made eight major league starts -- six with Seattle in 2004 and two with San Francisco in 2007, going 1-3 with a 9.35 ERA. He will be reunited with pitching coach Bryan Price, who has been the Diamondbacks' pitching coach since 2006 after serving in that capacity with the Mariners from 2000-05.
--OF Gerardo Parra, considered the top position-player prospect in the Arizona system, hit .329 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs for Zulia of the Venezuelan winter league. Parra, 21, led the league with 246 at-bats and 20 doubles and tied for the league lead with 81 hits. Parra, who played in the Futures Game last summer, was batting .542 in his first four playoff games while hitting leadoff.
BY THE NUMBERS: 115 -- LHP Randy Johnson's victories with the D-backs (1999-2004, 2007-08). He has 133 victories with Seattle (1989-1998), 34 with the Yankees (1995-96), 10 with Houston (1998) and three with Montreal (1988-89).
QUOTE TO NOTE: "In 2009, we will view him as a competitor. In the longer view, he will wear a Diamondbacks hat in Cooperstown." -- Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes, after LHP Randy Johnson signed with a one-year contract with San Francisco.
