San Francisco Giants re-sign second baseman Mike Fontenot; leave Jeff Keppinger -MLB Update
The San Francisco Giants are on the way to completing their roster for the upcoming 2012 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season as they re-signed their veteran second baseman, Mike Fontenot, to a one-year deal worth an approximate $1.05 million, announced
the club on Tuesday, December 13, 2011.
Along with signing the player, San Francisco Giants have let go of their infielder, Jeff Keppinger, who was the second choice which the team had to choose from in order to play the next season.
Keppinger is a renowned first, second and third baseman, but San Francisco was looking for a player who possessed expertise in the short position, thus forcing them to choose Fontenot over the former.
"We looked at it from a defensive standpoint," assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. "We saw Keppinger as more of a guy who could play first, second and third. The nod went to Fontenot because of how well he played short.
With Fontenot’s abilities, the Giants hope that they can continue to use them in a productive manner in the next season, which could indeed be the deciding factor in whether they wish to keep him on the team in the future or not making use of the short term
contract.
"We liked Fontenot's ability to get on base and hit a fastball, but the primary concern was looking at depth defensively. With Crawford at short, having two solid options as backups is more comfortable than having one."
Eli Whiteside was also not offered a contract by the Giants, which will make him a free agent just like Keppinger who is to explore the vast market in order for a deal to keep playing the upcoming season.
The 31-year-old will be entering his third straight season with San Francisco after having spent five consecutive years with the Chicago Cubs, making him a player with dynamic and versatile abilities beneficial to any team in the major league.
Seeing Mike Fontenot play next season will be the ultimate way of judging how the player performs and what his future in the league might look like be it with the Giants or any other team.
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