Cincinnati Reds shortstop Jeff Keppinger broke the patella in his left knee on Tuesday night when he fouled off a Mark Hendrickson pitch in the second inning of the Reds’ 8-7 win over Florida, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. A postgame X-ray revealed a fracture, but an MRI will determine the extent of the injury, John Fay said in his Reds Insider blog. Read more »

The Seattle Mariners have made it clear that they are very interested in a reunion tour with former M’s center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., and why not? The club is struggling mightily to score runs and has the worst record in the American League (15-25). According to Gregg Bell of the Associated Press, Mariners special assistant Duane Shaffer was in New York scouting Griffey over the weekend, which could put this deal on the fast track.

As Bell emphasizes, small crowds are becoming a big problem in Seattle, even bigger than the Mariners’ anemic offense. A return of the revered Griffey would help solve both, especially if his pursuit of 600 career home runs would follow him from Cincinnati to Seattle. Judging by Griffey’s home run pace so far (4 in 140 at-bats), it seems safe to assume that the chase will continue into the summer months. Read more »