Brewers claim catcher George Kottaras from Red Sox

[trwi7]

The Brewers also claimed catcher George Kottaras off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Kottaras, 26, batted .237 with one homer and 10 RBI in 45 games with the Red Sox last season.

This could give the Brewers another option at catcher if Kottaras can prove himself during spring training. He is a left-handed hitter and the plan could be to use him in a platoon with Brewers catching prospect Jonathan Lucroy, a right-handed hitter.

GM Doug Melvin said last week he was starting to like the idea of moving Lucroy to the majors next year, at least on a part-time basis. Melvin also told incumbent catcher Jason Kendall, a free agent, that he wasn't prepared to match his $5 million salary from a year ago.

Melvin said the addition was just to add depth to the position and he hasn't thought much about a platoon just yet, but Melvin would invite Lucroy to big-league camp and see how he handles himself.

Melvin also said he likes Kottaras' bat and that he is working on his defense.

Link

[Hate those Rodents]

To me, this is pretty much confirmation that we'll be going cheap at catcher this season between some combination of Kottaras, Rivera, Lucroy, Salome, (and maybe even Corporan as the first catcher up to keep the time clock off of the other two if that's how it works out).

[yoshii8]

I really like the signing. He has hit at every level, and has shown some power and plate patience. Could be a very good pickup.

[jerichoholicninja]

Wasn't he suppose to be the starter until Varitek signed last year? I know Boston let him go because they have Martinez and Varitek but shouldn't we be questioning why they just cut him loose instead of trading him.

[brewmann04]

well let hope the Brewers get lucky and go from there.

[wibadgers23]

well let hope it the Brewers luck to get him and go from there.

Ouch, my head hurts.

[MJLiverock]

Here is a quick little article talking about GKott from last year. Basically, guy K's a ton, doesn't mind taking a walk and can't play defense worth a lick. All in all though not a bad pick up to find a LH catcher who is young. Certainly raises my hope that Kendall won't be back.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mitts-in-boston

 

EDIT: Activated link

[bjkrautk]

well let hope it the Brewers luck to get him and go from there.

Ouch, my head hurts.

Then allow me to translate:

 

Hopefully, Catching WOAH SOLVDD.

Feel any better?

[Crew2323]

Wasn't he suppose to be the starter until Varitek signed last year? I know Boston let him go because they have Martinez and Varitek but shouldn't we be questioning why they just cut him loose instead of trading him.

Kottaras requested the release himself. He was out of minor league options, so I would guess that teams wouldn't give much up if they knew he would be put on waivers anyways. Perhaps the Red Sox were just doing the right thing for him and granting him an opportunity to latch on with a team where he would actually have an opportunity on the big league level, seeing as how it is highly unlikely the Red Sox would have carried three catchers. But then again, the Brewers did have a 13 or 14 man pitching staff a couple of years ago.

[Bombers]

Here are his stats from the Minors & Major's:

 

	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB	CS	BB	SO
2009	45	107	93	15	22	11	0	1	10	0.237	0.308	0.387	0.696	0	0	11	25
2008	3	5	5	1	1	1	0	0	0	0.200	0.200	0.400	0.600	0	0	0	2
7 Seasons	555	2274	1941	287	522	134	4	66	289	0.269	0.367	0.444	0.811	4	4	303	445
AAA (4 seasons)	237	959	832	110	199	53	1	33	121	0.239	0.331	0.424	0.756	1	1	114	217
AA (2 seasons)	107	431	358	56	100	26	1	10	48	0.279	0.394	0.441	0.836	0	1	69	91
A (1 season)	78	326	271	40	84	18	1	7	46	0.31	0.415	0.461	0.877	0	0	51	41
A_adv (1 season)	91	394	337	54	102	29	0	9	50	0.303	0.39	0.469	0.859	2	1	50	60
Rook (1 season)	42	164	143	27	37	8	1	7	24	0.259	0.348	0.476	0.823	1	1	19	36

 

Not impressive. I would look at him for a possible platoon. Hopefully we get a steal, but his minor league years don't show me a whole lot.

[joepepsi]

To me, this is pretty much confirmation that we'll be going cheap at catcher this season between some combination of Kottaras, Rivera, Lucroy, Salome, (and maybe even Corporan as the first catcher up to keep the time clock off of the other two if that's how it works out).

I hope that's the plan. I suspect either Salome or Lucroy will be traded before Opening Day.

[dadofandrew]

Always like a LH C as a backup, and he'll be cheap. Nice move for depth.

[MJLiverock]

He had a bit of a power surge in AAA for Pawtucket from 07 to 08 seeing his HR total jump from 9 to 22 in 462 PA's vs. 334 the year before. He also doubled his walks in that year from 32 to 64. Looks like he rode the pine a lot for the Red Sox last year and ended up with not a whole lot of PAs in either AAA or MLB. He does K a lot more than Kendall but also has more power, I could see an OPS north of .700 out of him maybe a .240/.300/.400 without expecting too much improvement or luck.

 

If he could keep his walk rate around 12%, sort of between his AAA and MLB numbers he could get that OBP up to .330 while hitting .240 and probably get that OPS near .750 if all went well for him. Certainly more upside offensively than Kendall. Now the matter of Kotteras being able to play defense is another question.

[TooLiveBrew]

This looks like another sharp pickup by Melvin, even if Kottaras doesn't end up being a real difference-maker. Like MJ points out, there's a pretty good chance that Kottaras can match or better the production we got from catcher last season. If the two catchers are Kottaras & Lucroy, one thing we know is that there'll be no shortage of walks from the catcher spot.

 

 

Certainly raises my hope that Kendall won't be back.

 

Yes... I think this is gradually becoming more clear as the offseason progresses. Or at least, I hope.

[And That]

Good pickup.

 

I hope that if they do go with Kottaras/Lucroy they make it a soft platoon so Lucroy gets a fair amount of starts vs. RHPs. We don't need another young player coming up, only to get sporadic playing time. If Macha won't give Lucroy at least 3 starts a week, I'd rather they go with Kottaras/Rivera. Or someone besides Macha.

[Funketown]

I originally planned on making some sarcastic remark about this signing, but after giving his stat lines the once over on Fangraphs, I think this is a nice depth pickup, and in the unlikely circumstance that he can hold his own behind the plate, he has significant upside over Rivera as a backup catcher.

 

I figure this guys gotta be better than a lot of what has thrown on the field in the last decade. Here's a list of Brewers' catchers who have seen significant time since 2002: Robert Machado, Paul Bako, Eddie Perez, Keith Osik, Chad Moeller, Gary Bennett, Damian Miller, Mike Rivera, Johnny Estrada, and Jason Kendall. Kottaras has got to be at least as good as half of these Milwaukee legends.

[hawing]

If George Kottaras helps me continue to forget Jorge Fabregas, this transaction will not have been made in vain.

[Funketown]

If George Kottaras helps me continue to forget Jorge Fabregas, this transaction will not have been made in vain.

To be completely objective, Fabregas did hit more longballs in his 67 AB's than Kendall did in all of 2008 or 2009. It's just unfortunate Fabregas' train to the Hall of Fame was derailed by that .140 BABIP.

[Hate those Rodents]

There is just no way that this signing can light a candle to our Tom Lampkin acquisition or even when we brought aboard Jesse Levis around ten years ago.

[TooLiveBrew]

One thing Funketown's list of former catchers made me wonder is whether or not Melvin has contacted (or plans to contact) Henry Blanco. A few other posters have brought him up as a stop-gap, & I think he'd be a good idea. Who knows, maybe Blanco will be in higher demand this offseason than he has been in years past.

[jjkoestler]

Would 804Sox (our resident Red Sox fan) care to chime in? What are the Brewers getting? Pros? Cons?

[bklynbrewcrew]

Nice pickup for depth and if its means Kendall is gone all the better.

[And That]

I'm curious to know more about his defense. The reports I've read range from terrible to competent to pretty decent.

[LouisEly]

"Kottaras is a Canadian -- the Brewers' Canadian-led operation scouts that country as well or better than any other organization -- who was drafted in the 20th round on the 2002 draft by San Diego. In 2006, he was listed as the Padres' No. 2 prospect by Baseball America magazine."

 

Of course it's the Padres, who haven't had much minor league talent the last few years, but could be buying low here.

[JohnBriggs12]

Eh. Ok, but not earth shattering. If I'm Mike Rivera I'm not shuddering about competing with Kottaras for job in spring. Sure, he's fairly young and lefthanded but except for a power surge one year at AAA (remember Rivera has seasons of 33 HR at AA and 19 at AAA too), he really hasn't hit above A ball. Plus the Red Sox released him. That's not a total indictment but it says something. He is cheap and it makes the likliehood of Kendall coming back less so that's a good thing.