12:37pm: It'd be a fairly easy call for the Giants to non-tender Keppinger, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Baggarly also notes that the Giants intend to work out a multiyear deal with starter Ryan Vogelsong, who would be eligible for free agency after 2012. For more on the Giants' huge arbitration class, read up here.
11:34am: The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt. ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered. If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him. Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.
Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.
ATL better be all over Keppinger. Why? He can play SS, as well as 2B and 3B and hits with a career .281/.332/.388. He won’t make that much money and can be a hybrid of Omar Infante and Martin Prado – if Prado were traded. He can also be the short-term SS, though he’s most vulnerable defensively at SS/3B, though still good.
he can’t throw from SS or 3B. if he could the giants would be smart to keep him.
Honestly? Not shortstop material. He is a good career hitter, but he certainly didn’t help the Gmen at all. Take him!
If he could play SS he would be playing SS for the Giants. He is a second baseman of all star caliber. I have heard that is the only position he plays. I couldn’t figure why the Gs got him other than uncertainty with Freddie’s future. Kepp is a very good hitter. The whole thing is very questionable because Freddie is hurt 2/3 of the time and when he goes down it is a big blow because Freddie a big part of the starting team. I think only Kepp could fill his shoes but Kepp isn’t going to sit he is to good. The Gs aren’t about to trade with ATL. Last July Sabaen dealing with Houston should have gone after Bourn or Pence and why he went after only Keppinger didn’t make any sense, and this shows now.
Does anyone know if Keppinger is capable of playing SS without being a Liability on defense, because he could be the Braves’ short term SS to bridge the gap for Pastorniky. Thoughts?
In utitlity fashion id say yes. Full time, i say no.
That’s perfect since he would be sharing time with Pastorniky anyways
As said below there is no way he could play SS. If he had to take more than a step in each direction at 2B there was no hope of a play being made.
Keppinger lacks the arm to throw from anywhere other than 2B
The Gs aren’t that dumb that they would trade Kepp to ATL. However maybe 2 months ago straight up for Bourn but not now with Melky in center.
The Gs aren’t that dumb that they would trade Kepp to ATL. However maybe 2 months ago straight up for Bourn but not now with Melky in center.
From what I saw of him in San Francisco last year, he’s barely capable of playing 2B.
I agree with you but he’s adequate because of his bat, but after you have somebody like Freddie you get used to the unbelievable. Kepp is a heck of a hitter but Freddie also has a slight edge there also.
He has played some ss in the past (none last year) i’m surprised the Giants will not offer him arbitration, especially with Sanchez coming off two years of arm injuries. Keppinger is a gamer
I don’t think Keppinger is capable of playing 2B much less SS, so by all means yes, let the Braves be all over Keppinger.
Torres isnt worth anything. He’s at best a 4th OF. I’m ok with all 3 leaving and using the money toward Beltran, cuddyer, willingham.
Yet…he had the second highest WAR on the team (2.1) for position players.
You want to keep a leadoff hitter who bats .221? He’s a 4th OF at best.
What I want is for people to stop thinking batting average is a good barometer of a player’s overall worth.
Or you could listen to the guy who persumably watches the team play and realize he was the worst offensive OF on a bad offensive team.
I can’t believe how bad he was against breaking balls last year. He would literally miss them by a full 2 feet. It was Serrano-esque
Sorry, I forgot that subjective eyewitness accounts trump statistics every time. My bad.
And btw, I watch this team play as well. Very often, in fact, I’m sure I watched at least 4/5 of their games last year as they are my favorite team.
In seriousness, look, I know his hitting was bad last year and I’m not trying to say it wasn’t. But he has on base skills which almost no other Giant has (because Brian Sabean doesn’t know what that is), and more importantly, UZR/150 has rated him as an elite defender for every year of his Giants career. I know he is no kind of “answer” offensively, but his defense alone, which is reflected in his surprisingly high WAR, is enough to show he is not “worthless.”
yea i think people are getting too caught up in these stats…its about the contribution he puts out on a daily basis, not WAR. i would put torres behind scheirholtz and ross as most valuable to the giants. the only reason he probably has a high war is because he is a good defender and is fast and can swipe a bag to get into scoring position. theres lots of things about baseball that cant be gauged by numbers
Those are exactly the reasons he has a high WAR. Both those are all also good reasons for keeping him around. It’s clear with the trade for Melky that they don’t view him as an everyday solution. But an elite defender and great pinch runner who has the potential to be a really good hitter? That’s a perfect 4th outfielder, and a steal at the $2.5m projected arb figure.
there are a lot of players that are fast and can play a good OF. which is why i dont like the WAR stat. torres is a perfect bench player but i was commenting on the fact that he was not our best outfielder last year, as WAR would suggest
Everything in baseball is gauged by numbers
you must have never played
Only until I was 45 but what’s your point?? If you don’t think baseball is a sport that is all about the stats you don’t know baseball.
haha ok bud..
hes not the solution…
Torres is horrible. He had a career year in 2010. Then regressed back to his normal numbers.
Maybe he’s off his meds. And lose the bat Torres, if 99% of the league doesn’t use a bat that size, why in the world do you think it helps you? Thanks for the memories and the world series. Good luck in your next town.
I for one would like to see Willingham in a Giants uniform.
hopefully it happens
Josh can’t play in a NL team. At least not as a everyday OF. Not with his injuries hence why only AL teams are interested in him so far.
What about Crisp? I wouldn’t mind seeing Melky in LF, Crisp in CF and either Nate or Beltran in RF. I might even go for Nate over Carlos. I loved seeing Beltran really come alive towards the end of the season, but he can’t contribute when he’s sittin on the DL. Just my thoughts…
Keppinger has the range of a wounded sloth. I like the guy, but I have never watched someone that covered less ground than he does. It’s a stretch for him to be at 2B, so I don’t really think he’s a viable option for SS.
If the Giants thought he could play SS, they wouldn’t be trying to trade him as they are looking for a reliable SS themselves.
He’s more of a bat then a glove. And that’s at 2nd. SS would be a big stretch for him, and that can’t happen everyday
Especially since Crawford has golden glove caliber defense. For whatever runs his isn’t producing on offense, he sure saves them on defense.
The Dodgers are Definitely interested in Keppinger
The need a 9th utility guy?
They need more Futility Men
I hope they take him. Their excess infielders can get playing time in the outfield, just like the Giants with Huff!
Keppinger does not have any side to side movement…A lot of balls go into the outfield due to his limited range. So having him play SS would be a reach
I’d hold off on any long term Vogelsong deal. Let’s see what happens THIS year!
I’m kind of torn with this one. If he takes a 2 or 3 year deal, and doesn’t do great next year then you’re stuck with him. If they don’t offer him an extension now, and he does good again next year then he’ll expect an even bigger contract and hit free agency. Hmm….
kinda like huff after the WS..hopefully if they do resign him its pretty cheap.
Offer Torres $1 million take it or leave it. His defense is worth that much alone. If he finds his swing again, that’s a bonus.
This is so true.
I take with a huge grain of salt when fans say a guy can’t play here or there because of range. Range comes into play once or twice a week. Keppinger’s played almost 1,400 innings at SS in the majors and has a fielding percentage over .980 and he’s played 2,300 innings at 2B with a very good .989 percentage. He might not be a guy you play everyday, but he brings enough to the table to be a solid utility guy that gets a lot of playing time.
this is completely false. There have been many studies that show that range is extremely valuable. When you aren’t reaching balls you are costing your team runs.
Fielding numbers only count on the ones you can get to. Show me Kepp’s WAR #’s
Fielding percentage is just the balls he can get to. Cant boot a ball you don’t get to. Keppinger is not capable of playing SS, or 2b for that matter
It would be stupid to nontender Torres. He can be quite valuable, and if you do not get a reasonable value in trade return, sign him and keep him. A year halfway between 2010 and 2011 would be worth several million in value.
Indeed. Besides, he’s a fantastic defender in CF, and Cabrera is not. At all.
Keeping him at least for a double switch somewhere in the 7th inning or something seems worthwhile to me.
Torres is a life long minor leaguer who hit the lottery with the Giants in 2010. Thank you very much. His unwillingness to try to adjust his game to the LO guy the Giants need is all the proof I need to see there are better younger less excpensive options in the oranization.
Just ask your fly ball pitchers if they want Torres in center when they are pitching!
the average fan doesn’t know anything about major league defense, including me. so despite what all of you say I still believe Keppinger could be a solid defender at SS
I dont claim to be an expert but it seemed pretty obvious he couldnt play SS when he couldnt even get to 20 hopper that I could roll through the infield with more speed than they were hit. He isnt a bad role player at all but asking him to play SS would be not be a good ide.
Is this sarcasm? He has no range at 2nd and barely has a good enough arm to play 2nd. No range and a below average arm equals a horrible short stop.
he is one of the slowest non catcher/pitchers in all of baseball. I can’t imagine him playing shortstop.
Keep Keppinger & Torres as backups until the lineup stabilizes.
The Giants should tender Torres and Keppinger. They’re great backups and have shown some history of success. Especially Torres, who is a switch hitter with speed and plays good defense. I’d rather have Torres out in left field after the 7th inning the Huff Daddy.
Wouldn’t mind Ramirez on the Angels. I want no part of Madson or K-Rod.
would you think the giants would take kyle mcclellan and skip shumaker for torres and keppinger?
This whole thing is basically stupid. Nobody’s gonna give you anything worthwhile for Torres. Why trade Ramirez ? He is affordable $1.3 Million and he is dependable. If you trade him you will probably be looking for relief in July. They should have hung onto Rowand and traded him rather than eating $15 mil. They should try to trade Zito to NYY or Boston or see if the Marlins or Nats would bite the purpose would be to free up money. Regarding Kepp, I couldn’t figure why the Gs got him other than uncertainty with Freddie’s future. Granted, Kepp is a very good hitter. Trading Kepp is very questionable because Freddie is hurt 2/3 of the time and when he goes down it is a big blow because Freddie a big part of the starting team. I think only Kepp could fill his shoes but Kepp isn’t going to sit he is to good. Last July Sabaen dealing with Houston should have gone after Bourn or Pence and why he went after only Keppinger didn’t make any sense, and this shows now. The Gs having to pay out roughly $40 mil to Zito and Rowand represents about 30% of the payroll. Huff may be additional dead weight. If another team wanted to pay Huff’s salary I would give him away for nothing in return.
This whole thing is basically stupid. Nobody’s gonna give you anything worthwhile for Torres. Why trade Ramirez ? He is affordable $1.3 Million and he is dependable. If you trade him you will probably be looking for relief in July. They should have hung onto Rowand and traded him rather than eating $15 mil. They should try to trade Zito to NYY or Boston or see if the Marlins or Nats would bite the purpose would be to free up money. Regarding Kepp, I couldn’t figure why the Gs got him other than uncertainty with Freddie’s future. Granted, Kepp is a very good hitter. Trading Kepp is very questionable because Freddie is hurt 2/3 of the time and when he goes down it is a big blow because Freddie a big part of the starting team. I think only Kepp could fill his shoes but Kepp isn’t going to sit he is to good. Last July Sabaen dealing with Houston should have gone after Bourn or Pence and why he went after only Keppinger didn’t make any sense, and this shows now. The Gs having to pay out roughly $40 mil to Zito and Rowand represents about 30% of the payroll. Huff may be additional dead weight. If another team wanted to pay Huff’s salary I would give him away for nothing in return.