Speaking with Arizona Sports 620's Burns and Gambo, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson confirmed, pending a physical, the gold glove third baseman will be making the move to Phoenix. With the deal all but assured, Chavez will become the second veteran player signed to the D-backs in the last 24 hours. Outfielder Eric Hinske agreed to a one year deal with Arizona on Tuesday.

"I know [Chavez] is a worker. Our interest in Eric, Hinske and Chavez, is that they're veteran guys," Gibson said, noting their comfort with hitting in high leverage situations. "But for our situational hitting, they're guys that know how to do that and can be counted on to do that and beyond what they can do individually, I think it's just a great addition to our team."

Gibson said Chavez will play a major role for the team in 2013.

Splitting time between first base, third base and designated hitter last year, Chavez had his most productive season in recent memory. He finished the 2012 season with a .281 batting average, 16 home runs and 37 runs batted for the AL East-winning New York Yankees.

"He had a very good year last year and he played in a very tough league last year," said Gibson. "So certainly we'll try and use him to our advantage."