September 3, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Jeff Keppinger (7) scores a run against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Keppinger, 32, is coming off a tremendous season in 2012 where he saw action in 115 games and compiled a .325/.367/.429 line in 418 plate appearances while seeing extensive time at first, second, and third base. Chicago figures to use the journeyman as their starting third baseman, though he has the versatility to play any infield position.

The contract is for three years and $12 million, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Keppinger is recovering from a broken fibula suffered this off-season, but he’s expected to be ready in time for Spring Training. He had been drawing interest from multiple teams, but was looking not only for security in the length of his deal, but an opportunity to gain everyday at bats.

This move solidifies the third base position for Chicago, which was vacated by Kevin Youkilis, who remains a free agent. The White Sox are severely right handed in their lineup, however, and this signing does nothing to address that issue.

It’s highly unlikely that Keppinger can somehow reproduce the kind of year he had at the plate in 2012 and he has a history of injuries that have robbed him of at bats when he has been given the chance to be a regular. At roughly $4 million per year, Keppinger is being paid in line with the role he’ll play.

Keppinger is a player not dissimilar in style to Marco Scutaro, who is five years older. Scutaro signed a three-year deal Tuesday with the Giants, but will make roughly $8 million more than Chicago is paying here. It’s a solid move to fill a need for the White Sox, and done without breaking the bank. That’s not easy to do in this market.

September 18, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Jeff Keppinger (7) hits a single in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Enter Jeff Keppinger, who blossomed in Tampa Bay last season. Keppinger has made a career out of being able to play all over the infield effectively, and out of crushing left handed pitching. Jeff Passan says New York has strong interest in signing the utility man.

Frequently used as a cleanup man last season in Joe Maddon‘s unusual lineups, Keppinger responded with a career-high nine home runs, a .325 batting average, and a .806 OPS. Despite breaking his leg this off-season, Keppinger is drawing significant interest across the league and could find a role as an everyday player elsewhere.

Part of the problem in New York’s quest for infield help is that while Jeter is expected back somewhere near Opening Day, Rodriguez will likely miss the entire first half of the season and maybe longer. So the Yankees want to find someone good enough to be viewed as an everyday player, but also one that will be okay with heading to reserve duty once Rodriguez returns.

Generally speaking, players who are good enough to start don’t much care for not starting. New York’s better bet might be to re-sign Eric Chavez and hope he can stay healthy enough to make it through the first part of the season without Rodriguez.

UPDATE (3:35 pm): Via Ken Rosenthal:

Price for Keppinger, according to official of one club involved in talks, is now at $8M for two years. #Yankees among teams with interest.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2012

The Rays have placed Luke Scott on the DL retroactive to June 8th. (Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

back.  Scott injured his back last week and had hoped the pain would go away without a trip to the DL.  Unfortunately for him and the Rays, that wasn’t the case.

I’ve been having really, really bad back spasms since Saturday.  I’ve been trying to get them to go away, but they haven’t so far. We have a plan and we’ll keep to that plan. It’s a difficult situation, but we’ll have to make the most of it.

Luke Scott is hitting .220/.281/.424 this year.  He hit .220 last year as well.  He does have 9 home runs this season and he has been able to show power in years past.  He hit 23 in 2008, 25 in 2009, and 27 in 2010 with the Baltimore Orioles.  Scott is a career .261/.344/.489.

According to Page, the DL stint will be retroactive to June 8th.  Scott will continue his rehab and hopes to be ready to return by June 24th.

The Rays are 2.5 games back of the first-place Yankees in the American League East.  They start a three-game series with the Miami Marlins tonight in Tampa.

Scott’s injury news comes on the heels of good news for the Rays.  Both Evan Longoria and Jeff Keppinger are nearing a return to the ball club.  Both have been sidelined with injuries and are making rehab starts.

For more on the Rays, be sure to check out Rays Colored Glasses.  

With a torn ACL, it could be a while before we see Rivera shagging batting practice flyballs again. (Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE)

started, Mariano Rivera was not in the bullpen.  He was not in the dugout.  He was not available.  While catching flyballs during batting practice, Rivera twisted his knee and collapsed in a heap.  It was obviously bad, and every baseball fan’s worst fears were confirmed later in the night; he had torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

The injury is so much more devastating for Rivera because he is 42, has been hinting at retirement after this season, and there is a chance he will never play the game again.  Of course, there is equal chance he will come back in 2013 and give it one more go.  We won’t know until that time comes, so for now, it’s simply a sad injury with historical ramifications.  Rivera is a first ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible, but most would rather him go out on his own terms, not in cringing pain on the waning track of Kauffman Stadium.

The Yankees had no choice but to carry on.  They played the Royals while their minds were certainly on Rivera.  Mike Moustakas of the Royals continued his hot hitting and helped Kansas City to their first home win of the year.  He was 2 for 4 with a home run, his fourth of the year.

Despite the Yankees attempts at chipping away the lead, the Royals scored early and kept extending their cushion.  The 4-3 victory was just Kansas City’s 8th win this year.

(more…)

Evan Longoria and Dan Johnson are heroes, the Tampa Bay Rays must thank the Yankees for losing, and the Rays must also thank the Boston Red Sox for helping to complete 50% of the collapse. The other 50% was the rise of the Rays to take the Wild Card spot from the Red Sox and end up in the MLB playoffs. They were bounced out by the Texas Rangers, who would go on to lose in one of the greatest World Series showdowns of all-time, but the final day of the regular season made this another magical season for fans of the Tampa Bay Rays. More magic will be in store in 2012 for the Rays. (more…)