The Giants have decided not to tender a contract to 32-year old righty swinging catcher Eli Whiteside for the 2012 season. Whiteside played in 82 games for the Giants last year and he was 42 for 213 (.197 avg, .574 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He played in 187 games in his three years with the Giants and he was 101 of 466 (.217 avg, .616 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 10 homers, 40 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Giants shouldn’t have too hard of a time finding a replacement for Whiteside.

UPDATE: (12/16/2011) - The Giants have re-signed Eli Whiteside to a minor league deal.

The Giants have decided to not to tender a contract for 2012 to 31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger played in 56 games for the Giants last year and he was 55 for 216 (.255 avg, .618 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers and 15 RBIs. He played in 99 games overall for the Astros & Giants last year and he was 105 for 379 (.277 avg, .677 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers and 35 RBIs. Having Keppinger on the bench was a luxury the Giants didn’t think they could afford in 2012. He will have no problem finding a new job.

The Giants have acquired 30-year old switch-hitting outfielder Angel Pagan from the Mets for 30-year old righty reliever Ramon Ramirez and 33-year old switch-hitting outfielder Andres Torres. Pagan played in 123 games for the Mets last year and he was 125 of 478 (.262 avg, .694 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 7 homers, 56 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. He has now played in 541 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 504 of 1,809 (.279 avg, .750 OPS) with 263 runs scored, 33 homers, 209 RBIs and 95 stolen bases. The Giants are hoping that Pagan’s speed will help inject some life into the offense. Ramon Ramirez pitched in 66 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he was 3-3 with 4 saves, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He pitched in 91 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Giants and he was 4-3 with 5 saves, a 2.07 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The Giants are going to miss Ramirez, as he is a very solid reliever. Andres Torres played in 112 games for the Giants last year and he was 77 for 348 (.221 avg, .643 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He played in 326 games in his three years with the Giants and he was 254 for 1,007 (.252 avg, .768 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 26 homers, 105 RBIs and 51 stolen bases. Angel Pagan is a huge upgrade on Andres Torres. I like this deal for the Giants as they needed more offense and Pagan will help them in that area.