Transaction Reaction: Aaron Hill

The Arizona Diamondbacks sign Aaron Hill to a two-year contract worth $11 Million.

• I think that this is a tremendous deal for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Back in the "Value in a Vacuum" column, I argued that Hill was among the best values to be had this offseason.  As a second baseman, he is only two years removed from a season in which he hit .286 with 36 home runs.  That is a "Sandberg-ian" type of production.  Granted, the last two years have not been quite as pretty, but the potential is there, and after he was traded to the Diamondbacks, Hill hit .315 in 124 at bats.
• In addition, the risk-level on this contract is very low.  $5.5 million dollars?  In MLB terms, that is tuppence (to quote Mary Poppins).  Plus, if for some reason Hill goes through a rough patch or two, they have super-sub Willie Bloomquist backing up both middle infield positions.  
• By the way, if you were to go to Aaron Hill's page on baseball-reference.com, do you know who they list as statistically the most similar player through age 29 in all of baseball history?  Brandon Phillips.  Just for some financial comps, before having his $12 million dollar option picked up this year, Phillips was reportedly looking for something in the ballpark of $48 Million over four years.