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Jeff Keppinger

Quick Hits: Keppinger, Pettitte, Bell, Molina

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Here are some items of note on this Thursday, a day on which the Reds and Rangers each settled with one of their arbitration-eligible players. Remember to refer to our handy Arbitration Tracker, as those cases will continue to pop up in the coming weeks …

  • The Astros were thought to be mulling the idea of trading Jeff Keppinger this offseason, but the utility infielder is scheduled to undergo left foot surgery next week and will likely miss the start of the regular season, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. This offseason, Houston acquired Bill Hall to play second base and Clint Barmes to man shortstop, so Keppinger has become expendable, but the injury should put a significant dent in the likelihood of him being dealt before the season. Keppinger enjoyed a career year in 2010, hitting .288/.351/.391 in 575 plate appearances. The Astros and Yankees briefly discussed a swap for Keppinger, but those talks went nowhere.
  • The Yankees are willing to offer $12MM or $13MM to Andy Pettitte and are awaiting a decision from the lefty, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. As Heyman notes, either of those figures would represent a modest raise for Pettitte, who earned $11.75MM in 2010, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Pettitte, who has been playing on one-year deals in each of the past four seasons, will probably either re-sign with the Yankees or retire.
  • Padres closer Heath Bell hopes to remain in San Diego with a multiyear contract, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bell is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and, having turned 33 in September, wants to garner long-term security, notes Center. Padres GM Jed Hoyer didn't offer much, saying that he and Bell's agent have "touched on it."
  • After splitting 2010 between the Giants and Rangers, free-agent catcher Bengie Molina is seeking the "right fit," and one scenario that interests him is backing up his brother Yadier with the Cardinals, tweets Heyman. However, St. Louis already has a solid backup backstop in Gerald Laird, who signed a one-year deal with the Cards in December, so that seems unlikely.

Rosenthal On Fuentes, Soriano, Keppinger

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The Red Sox, Rays, Yankees and Twins are among the many teams interested in Brian Fuentes, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. There’s some question as to whether Fuentes is truly a closer, but his asking price suggests he views himself as one. Here’s the latest on Fuentes and more notes from around the majors:

  • Fuentes is asking for over $5MM per season on a multiyear deal, according to Rosenthal.
  • The Yankees are not after Rafael Soriano, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). They have inquired on the Scott Boras client, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. 
  • Talks between the Yankees and Jeff Keppinger went nowhere, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter). The Astros have acquired Clint Barmes and Bill Hall this offseason, making Keppinger expendable. The Yankees, however, could rely on Eduardo Nunez instead.

Astros Sign Bill Hall

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The Astros have signed Bill Hall to a one-year, $3.25MM deal that includes a mutual option for 2012. Hall will earn $3MM this season and either $4MM or a $250K buyout in 2012. The Yankees and Dodgers were among the teams pursuing Hall, who will play second base regularly for Houston. Gaylord Sports represents Hall.

Hall, 31 this month, hit 18 homers for the Red Sox as a utilityman last year. He batted .247/.316/.456 and played all three outfield positions plus second, third and short. He even set the Royals down in order when Terry Francona called on him to pitch in May.

The agreement "practically ensures" that the Astros will trade Jeff Keppinger, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes (Twitter link). Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi reported earlier that the Yankees have spoken to the Astros about acquiring Keppinger for their bench. 

Rosenthal broke the news (on Twitter) and the AP added financial details.

Odds & Ends: Angels, Greinke, Tigers, Gregg

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Links for Friday, as we await the holidays and debate the merits of multiyear deals for relievers…

Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:

  • Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
  • Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
  • The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
  • Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
  • Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
  • According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
  • The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
  • Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.

Astros Make Lindstrom, Keppinger Available

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5:03pm: The Rockies are interested in Lindstrom, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

10:03am: The Astros are looking to trade reliever Matt Lindstrom and infielder Jeff Keppinger as a means of cutting payroll, reports Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.  Both players are arbitration eligible for the second time and should pass the $2MM salary mark in 2011.

Keppinger should draw interest in a weak middle infield market, but Lindstrom's stock is hurt by the strong supply of righty relievers and the back problems that caused him to end the season on a sour note.

Stark On Zambrano, Beltran, Keppinger, Torre

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Owners want a rigid slotting system like the ones in the NFL and the NBA, but ESPN.com's Jayson Stark finds it hard to believe that the MLBPA would agree to hard slotting, since it has traditionally avoided caps of any kind. One National League executive compared baseball's current slotting system to “traffic lights in the Dominican,” since he doesn’t know “what they're even there for." A hard slotting system would give teams the certainty of pre-determined bonuses, but the MLBPA wouldn't like it. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

  • One executive believes the Cubs could find a taker for Carlos Zambrano this winter as long as they take on most of the big righty's salary, but another executive says there's no way the Cubs could trade Big Z.
  • Executives are similarly divided on Carlos Beltran. One says trading him is "impossible," but another would take a flier on Beltran, partly because he's headed into a contract year.
  • Jeff Keppinger was claimed on waivers, so the Astros cannot trade him this month.
  • A longtime acquaintance of Joe Torre's expects the manager to sign with the Mets this winter.

Stark On Werth, Willingham, Cantu, Theriot

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Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth told ESPN's Jayson Stark he's "not up late reading the blog sites" regarding trade rumors, but he doesn't expect to be dealt.  Stark agrees, though he notes that the Phillies did toss Werth's name out there to many teams.  On to Stark's other rumors…

  • The Dodgers are looking at Ted Lilly, but they haven't completely abandoned the idea of acquiring Roy Oswalt.  Still, the impediments to an Oswalt deal remain significant.  Lilly appears certain to be traded.
  • Josh Willingham is drawing interest from the Braves, Rays, and Red Sox.  Adam Dunn remains a trade candidate as well, but the Nationals would only deal one of the two.
  • Money might be holding up a Jorge Cantu-Rangers deal, as the Rangers can't add any payroll and would want the Marlins to pick up the entire $2.25MM tab.
  • The Padres have been linked to infielders Ryan Theriot and Jeff Keppinger, as outfield targets such as David DeJesus, Corey Hart, and Jayson Werth drop out of the picture for various reasons.
  • Don't look for anything major from the Red Sox outside of some bullpen tweaking.  They will prowl the waiver wire in August, though.

Discussion: Kaz Matsui

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Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui is in the final season of a three-year, $16.5MM pact signed in December of 2007.  Matsui's flat start combined with the strong play of Jeff Keppinger has led to the two men splitting time at second.  One has to imagine that Matsui will find himself relegated to the bench if he cannot boost his .214 OPS in the near future.

Of course, putting a player set to earn $5MM on the pine is rather wasteful.  However, drumming up a market for the native of Japan may prove to be difficult.  After a solid campaign in  2008, Matsui hit just.250/.302/.357 in '09.  Fangraphs estimates that his play last season was barely worth more than half of what he earned as his defense was also pedestrian.

If Matsui can get back to his 2008 form, could the Astros find a taker for him without absorbing the majority of the money he is owed?

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Friday

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Here's a list of the players who have avoided arbitration so far today, with more names sure to stream in:

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