White Sox Land Jeff Keppinger

Today at the Winter Meetings, Rick Hahn and the White Sox signed infielder Jeff Keppinger to play third next year.  The deal lasts 3 years and is worth $12 million.

Keppinger spent 2012 with Tampa Bay where he batted .325/.367.439 and also hit 9 HRs in 115 games.  For his career, Keppinger has an incredibly low strikeout percentage at only 6.4%.  Only Juan Pierre has struck out less in recent years than Jeff Keppinger according to FanGraphs.

This won't be a signing that will have the rest of the baseball world buzzing, but it is an intelligent, smart, cost-effective signing.  As South Side Sox points out:

This is by no means a sexy signing, but it's a relatively safe one that makes a good deal of sense for what the Sox are trying to accomplish. Keppinger only needs to be worth about 2.1 WAR over the next three seasons to earn his contract. If used properly, that shouldn't be a problem.

With third base now solved (although expect Keppinger to be platooned), Rick Hahn now has more flexibility with what he can get in return if he chooses to deal Gavin Floyd.

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Top 5 White Sox Catcher Prospects

Josh Phegley (WhiteSox.com)

This list, only five players, took me hours to make.  Catcher may be the weakest/thinnest position in the entire White Sox system.  Only the top two have really proven anything in the minors and the third has barely played.  Agree or disagree?  Comment below.

1. Josh Phegley - Opinions seem to be unanimous that Phegley is the top catcher in the White Sox system.  The 24-year has spent four years in the minors after being drafted 38th overall in 2009 out of Indiana University.  Phegley improved on his 2011 campaign and batted .266/.306/.373 last year while driving in 48 RBIs in 102 games.  Another positive sign is Phegley has reduced his strikeout percentage through the years and different levels.  However, his BB% in 2012 was the lowest of his career.  Also, Phegley lacks power as he has only hit 8 homers in 124 games in his AAA career.

Phegley is pretty good defensively.  Last year, he had a CS% (caught stealing) of 46% which helped him earn a MiLB Gold Glove last year.

If Hahn and the White Sox don't sign A.J. Pierzynski or another catcher, Phegley could be the backup next year.

2. Kevan Smith - Also 24-years old, Smith was taken in the 7th round in 2011 out of Pitt.  In 2011, Smith absolutely dominated rookie ball, batting .355/.448/.626 combined with Great Falls and Bristol.  Last year, he came back down to Earth, but still batted .281/.338/.434 in A and A+ ball.  Defensively, Smith had a CS% of 33% last year.  He was named a South Atlantic League All-Star last year.  While those rookie league numbers are impressive, he was 23 years old at the time.  He is still somewhat old for A+ ball.

3. Sammy Ayala - There is really no reason besides faith to put Ayala here.  Despite being drafted in the 500s in 2012 by the White Sox, Baseball America listed him as a top 200 prospect.  Ayala, 18, is obviously very raw.  Hopefully, Baseball America is right and Ayala can become a solid prospect in the future.

4. Martin Medina - Medina plays a little bit of everything.  Last year, he played first, third, and DH, but spent most of his time (54 games) at catcher.  With Kanny last year, he batted .252/.318/.332 and had a CS% of 40%.  Medina had a high strikeout percentage in 2012 at 23.7%.

5. Miguel Gonzalez - This last spot was truly a toss up (was going to go with Michael Blake for awhile).  While Gonzalez has struggled recently batting, he has been named Baseball America's 

best defensive catcher for the past four years.  He is also three years younger than Blake which gives him the nod over him.

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Jake Peavy and the White Sox Agree to Two-Year Extension

The White Sox have reached agreement with Jake Peavy as they have given him a two-year extension worth $29 million.  Also, there is a $15 million dollar player option for 2015 if he meets certain incentives.

Jake Peavy expressed desire in the past to stay with the White Sox and he took a cut to stay in the Windy City.

This is Rick Hahn's first move as the new GM of the Chicago White Sox and this is what he had to say about him:

"Jake Peavy showed again last season why he is capable of being one of the top pitchers in the American League."

Consider me happy.

Weighing in on Alex Rodriguez to the White Sox Rumors

What do you think about this guy wearing a White Sox uniform next year? (Usatoday.com)

Well, I'm a little late to the party on this one.  As you probably know, Alex Rodriguez was absolutely dreadful for the Bronx Bombers in the playoffs which led to him being benched.  Now the New York media and Yankee fans are wanting A-Rod to be shipped out of town.  Miami, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Chicago have all been mentioned as a possible landing for A-Rod.  So here is my late take on whether A-Rod would fit well with the White Sox.

In the beginning, I didn't even want the White Sox to consider it.  I was absolutely against it.  The man is aging and his production is rapidly dropping.  His contract is huge and even if the Yanks ate most of it, the White Sox will stay be paying a lot.

However, I began to think it through.

The White Sox have very limited options with who they can play at third next year.  The White Sox will have to either work out a deal with Kevin Youkilis, play Brent Morel (God, please no), or sign someone in the offseason like Alex Rodriguez.  

While A-Rod is aging and his numbers are falling (his OPS was 1.067 in 2007 and it has consistently fallen and is now at .823), I think moving away from New York would benefit him.  In New York, A-Rod will never live up to that contract and while he can't anywhere, there will be a lot less pressure in another city.  

He has stated that he would like to join a team in a major market and Chicago somewhat fits the bill.  Of course Chicago is a major market, but let's face it, the White Sox play second fiddle to the Cubs.  With that being said, I'm not sure A-Rod would want to play for the Pale Hose.  If he does get out of New York, I think it will give him a breath of fresh air and allow him to have better years.  So I believe that there is definitely some benefit if A-Rod was to land in Chicago. 

Now let's compare A-Rod and Youk's stats from this year.  Click to enlarge.

So you can see that even after Youk's excellent first month in a White Sox uniform, he still had a mediocre year.  But, A-Rod wasn't drastically better than him.  Still, given the choice, you would probably want A-Rod over Youk if you didn't factor in money.

So let's factor in the money and other factors.  We all know that A-Rod's contract is huge.  For 2014, he will be owed $28 million next year and it reduces down to $20 million by the end of his contract in 2017.  For the White Sox to even consider this deal, the Yankees will have to eat a large portion of his contract, like enough so the White Sox are only paying him around $8 million or so.  If the Yankees are going to do that, the White Sox will need to give up a lot in return.   Viciedo, Quintana, and other top prospects would likely be part of the deal.  That's too much in my opinion.

I definitely see the benefits of Alex Rodriguez playing on the White Sox.  The team would be a better one with him at third and as stated above, I think he can somewhat revive his career in another city.  However, I'm hoping that Rick Hahn is different than Kenny Williams and doesn't give up some of the future for a year or two from an aging Rodriguez, who is clearly in decline.

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