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The Jeff Keppinger deal I talked about earlier in the week was finalized today. Keppinger will earn $1.525 million this year with some incentives. Keppinger provides the Rays with good depth in the infield. His defense is not great, but his hitting should make up for it. I could see Keppinger getting a fair share of starts between second and short. He could see more time at second so Ben Zobrist can move to right and relieve Matt Joyce against lefties.

As a result of the Keppinger deal, Russ Canzler was designated for assignment. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Keppinger. There were some who thought Canzler had a chance to make the team and steal some starts from Carlos Pena. This move obviously foils that plan. It looks like the Rays will do what they did with Casey Kotchman last year, by having Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez back up Pena.

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Devon talked about yesterday how the Rays were close to signing Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger is a utilityman, albeit one with a solid bat. Utility players are something the Rays have an overabundance of. They have Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, Elliot Johnson, Reid Brignac (who could be taught third and left field if needed), and then non-roster invitee Will Rhymes along with several prospects who fit a similar profile. Why would the Rays possibly sign Keppinger?
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It’s time for this week’s edition of Around the Twitterverse. This week your favorite Rays players were talking about the Carlos Pena signing and, as always, David Price was at it again. This week’s best tweets after the jump.

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As I mentioned a couple days ago, the Rays were rumored to be interested in Jeff Keppinger. Now, it seems, the rumors had some substance. Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays are close to a deal with infielder Jeff Keppinger. It is reported that Keppinger’s deal will be a Major League one, guaranteeing him a roster spot.

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Since 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays have been the Tampa-St. Petersburg area’s first major league baseball team. But pro baseball in the area goes back much farther than that. The Yankees High-A team, the Tampa Yankees, still plays in the city of Tampa, but they’re just the latest of a storied minor league history in the area. Today we’ll start our look at pro baseball in the Tampa area with professional teams that have played in the city of Tampa through the year 1927. We’ll tell stories of players and teams who experienced great success, extreme sadness, and everywhere in between. And along the way we’ll piece together clippings of baseball history and get a firm understanding of the game of baseball through the years, especially here in the Tampa area.
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The AL Central just got very interesting. In a deal that was somewhat surprising, Prince Fielder finally ended his search for a new home by signing a nine year, $215 million deal with the Tigers. The Tigers lost Victor Martinez earlier this offseason to injury and needed a bat to fill the void, and they certainly got one, and then some. Fielder will play first while Miguel Cabrera will move back to third base. The Tigers, in my mind, will now run away with the Central with no real big threats to take the top spot.

In news that hits closer to home for the Rays, the Blue Jays also completed a deal today. They signed Francisco Cordero to bolster the back of their bullpen. The Blue Jays added Sergio Santos earlier this offseason, and Ken Rosenthal is reporting Cordero will set-up for Santos. Cordero had been the brilliant closer for the Reds, but had to find a new home after the Reds inked Ryan Madson. These two stories are not really Rays related, but certainly change the face of the American League.

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Yesterday I mentioned that Marc Topkin thought that the Rays may sign a right handed bench bat. Today, we have rumors that the Rays are connected to a right handed bench bat. Jerry Crasnick tweeted that the Rays are interested in Jeff Keppinger, who was non-tendered by the Giants this offseason. Keppinger would most likely be a utility man for the Rays. He has seen time at second, short, and third, so could be a good backup for the Rays.

Keppinger played in 99 games last year for the Giants and Astros, hitting .277 with six homers. That would certainly be an upgrade over Elliot Johnson, the incumbent for the utility man roster spot. I could easily see the Rays making this move to give them a reliable guy to go behind the platoon of Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez and provide insurance for injuries.

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A commenter on our Facebook page asked an important question. The Rays have a whole bunch of players seemingly ready to contribute to their big league team in 2012, but they have to manage to cut their 40-man roster (here) down to 25 guys for the start of the season. Spring training will help them make a lot of those decisions, but let’s take quick look at the locks and favorites to be on the 25-man roster once the season begins, and the players who are in competition for roster spots.
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Outfielder Kyeong Kang was a questionable prospect coming into the 2011 season. But he responded with a great season for Double-A Montgomery and his 2012 season at Triple-A Durham could be even better.
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Nick Cafardo wrote today that the Rays could accelerate a BJ Upton trade for a shortstop after the recent signing. Marc Topkin, on the other hand, seems to think the Rays will stand pat, except for maybe adding a right handed bench bat. I seem to agree with Topkin. If the Rays enter the season with this roster, they have a very good chance of winning.

A platoon of Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac has a chance to produce, considering S-Rod can be good against lefties and Brignac can be good against righties. Together, you could have a decent hitting combo at short. As for the catcher spot, which Cafardo also brings up, I think that is a bit more shaky, but still fine. Jose Molina has never been a great hitter, but has great defense and pitch calling. Robinson Chirinos and Jose Lobaton will take some of the starts from Molina, but we don’t really know what to expect from them. Both spent some time at the big league level, but neither spent enough time with the Rays to really tell whether they will be good.

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