UPDATE: Whiteside is officially back in San Francisco, getting a minor-league contract, so the Giants made the correct call in non-tendering him. He’ll have to compete for a roster spot during spring training.
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Earlier this week the Giants non-tendered Eli Whiteside, making him a free agent, but John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 32-year-old catcher is “close to a deal” to return at a lower salary.
Buster Posey‘s season-ending injury led to a career-high 236 plate appearances for Whiteside and he was predictably stretched too thin as a regular, hitting just .197 with hour homers and a .574 OPS.
By non-tendering him the Giants avoided paying Whiteside around $750,000 via arbitration, so presumably he’s willing to accept a one-year deal for something a little closer to the new $480,000 minimum salary to back up Posey again.
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- Jonny 5 - Dec 15, 2011 at 11:39 AM
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Eli Whiteside. Proving that you can’t run from DNA, one white hair at a time.
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- jonirocit - Dec 15, 2011 at 11:43 AM
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Rather have Stewart
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- jerryb2339 - Dec 15, 2011 at 7:43 PM
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I cannot believe they would spend a roster spot on either Whiteside or Stewart. Surely there MUST be a second tier catcher in professional baseball that can hit over .210?
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- hittfamily - Dec 16, 2011 at 1:10 PM
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If you find one, send him Tampas way because we don’t have a starter who will hit that.
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- rooney24 - Dec 16, 2011 at 1:11 PM
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The Twins couldn’t find one last year when Mauer missed time, and they tried three of them (Butera, Rivera, and Holm).
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- sisqsage - Dec 16, 2011 at 1:15 PM
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What, he’s not eligible for Social Security?
Are we ever going to get rid of this guy? Just put all of your enery into getting Hector Sanchez ready as a backup and potential first baseman if Buster shows he’s close to 100 percent, and move on from retreads like Whitey.
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- skerney - Dec 16, 2011 at 2:54 PM
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Getting Hector Sanchez ready and making him Posey’s backup might not be the same thing. Also the Giants are lousy with first baseman.
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- areyesrn - Dec 16, 2011 at 5:53 PM
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he can hop around and ATTEMPT to tackle Placido Polanco again this year…
