MLB Notebook: Dodgers add Greinke to rotation
BY Associated Press
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
12/11/12 at 3:13 AM
Flush with cash after the team's sale this year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are busy spending it on starting pitching.
The team finalized a $147 million, six-year deal with free agent right-hander Zack Greinke on Monday.
"We were definitely hoping for Zack," said Magic Johnson, a partner in Guggenheim Baseball Management which bought the team last spring. "Zack is a proven winner. When you put him together with Clayton, man, we feel really good."
The deals for Greinke and South Korean Ryu Hyun-jin give the Dodgers eight starting pitchers under contract for next season, joining 2011 NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang.
That doubles the number of starters the Dodgers had just two years ago.
The Dodgers were eager to bolster their pitching this winter knowing that Billingsley (elbow) and Lilly (shoulder) are coming off surgeries.
Greinke split last season with Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Angels. He went a combined 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA in 34 starts, and finished the season going 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his last eight starts after Aug. 24.
The 29-year-old pitcher spent his only full season in the NL in 2011, tying a career high with 16 wins.
Greinke pitched from 2004-10 with Kansas City, going 16-8 with a major league-leading 2.16 ERA in 2009 when he won the Cy Young.
White Sox announce deal with Keppinger: The Chicago White Sox say they have agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with infielder Jeff Keppinger.
The team announced the deal Monday after reaching an agreement last week. He is set to earn $3.5 million next season, $4 million in 2014 and $4.5 million in 2015.
Keppinger hit a career-high .325 in 115 games with Tampa Bay last season. He made 41 starts at third base, 23 at second, 21 at first and 19 as the designated hitter. He is expected to play third for the White Sox.
Bay hoping for a fresh start in Seattle: Jason Bay took a glance at the Seattle Mariners' 40-man roster and suddenly realized how unique he will be.
He's one of only two players on that current roster who was born in the 1970s.
"I don't feel like I'm that old, but I guess I am around here," the 34-year-old Bay said Monday.
While he may not exactly fit the Mariners' model of relying on young prospects to rebuild the franchise, Bay could fill a significant need for Seattle in the 2013 season. He was introduced on Monday after his one-year contract with the Mariners was finalized over the weekend.
Bay said he hopes a fresh start with the Mariners can put three seasons of struggles - mostly due to injuries - with the New York Mets in the past.
