The Tampa Bay Rays sign Jeff Keppinger
The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Keppinger to a 1-year deal. Keppinger played in 99 games for the Astros & Giants last year and he was 105 of 379 (.277 avg, .677 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers and 35 RBIs. He has now played in 586 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 582 for 2,074 (.281 avg, .720 OPS) with 240 runs scored, 32 homers, 215 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Keppinger is a career .324 hitter against lefty pitching and he can play all over the infield, so look for Manager Joe Maddon to use him quite a bit in 2012. I like this signing for the Rays as they need help on the infield.
He’s a great backup infeidler. I was very familar with him from his days in Cincinnati. Gives you a decent amount of offense too, more than most SS’s. http://www.fromthisseat.com