Keppinger, Lindstrom on trading block

I’m also perplexed by us making Keppinger available. Although Wade has said before that he would like to get more power at 2B so … (like you said) if we trade him I hope we have a better solution.

If we’re just trading him to clear payroll b/c Drayton wants to cut every penny he can to sell the team then I’m stumped and quite angry. Why trade for a middle infielder who hit .220 something last year and is due a raise of probably 4 Mill….. and are going to trade a middle infielder who hit .296 with a .350 OBP and is due to make 3 Mill. It doesn’t make sense! The only noticeable upgrade of Barmes over Keppinger is defense b/c whatever power Barmes brings Keppinger matches with his contact ability and OBP.

I don’t know what is out there for an upgrade at 2B. Gordon Beckham was included in the White Sox package for A-Gon but you have to figure that was just a special case. I’ve mentioned Aaron Hill earlier and still could see that. I’ve also thought Howie Kendrick MIGHT be a possibility. He’s oft-injured and hasn’t lived up to the hype in LA. Keppinger fits Scioscia’s (Spelling?) style as well. We’d have to include another peice or two but despite his injury history Kendrick has a very high ceiling…… Just a thought!

It looks good on paper just because this is the point where kepp’s value is the highest, which means we should net a decent return. I’m thinking some depth around the roster. If we trade him we need to either move Barmes to 2B and plug sanchez and manzella in at SS as a platoon, or keep Barmes at SS and rotate sanchez and manzella at 2B. We might even net an up and coming 2B for Kepp but i doubt that happens. i see this as bad because he put up good numbers last year and this could be where his career takes a turn for the good. This could also be a sign of things to come as im hoping Lee and Lyon have big first halfs next year and net us somehting at the trade deadline, then were pretty much free of all BIG contracts. Now as far as this offseason goes i think we should go after Brad Hawpe with an incentive laden deal, he could pan out and become a nice LF’er. If he doesnt so what with the money we save on kepp could be used on Hawpe. Hawpe could benefit us in Houston, he would be playing on a non competitive team and in a small market so that he could relax and work on his stroke. There are enough little pieces in free agency to help this team get to 2012 without suffering too bad. Now as far as lyndstrom goes i dont see us netting much if anything at all, so we should cut our loss with him and move on. We might be able to hang on to him till the deadline and deal him to a contender if he puts up a good first half.

Perhaps the White Sox as they have non-tendered Jenks and Putz & Linebrink are gone. With their payroll nearing its limit, they’ll likely have to make due with what they have (Thornton & Santos) and find another late innings guy. Lindstrom might fit the role and dollar value, plus Ozzie likes his flame-throwers. They have some talent that they have hinted is available in Quentin, but it might be interesting to try to pry Gordon Beckham away.