Brewers claim catcher George Kottaras from Red Sox

[trwi7]

Rivera's 19 HR season came with a .270 OBP and .691 OPS. I'd actually like Kottaras on the roster either with Rivera, Lucroy or someone like Blanco.

[crewcrazy]

McCalvy's MLB.com article mentions that Rivera is arbitration-eligible this winter. I can't imagine Rivera getting that much in arby this winter, but in a scenario where this move might lead to him being non-tendered (not likely if there's no clear contenders for the starting job, but still possible), I guess any money that could be saved this offseason and put towards pitching could be useful.

[dadofandrew]

I thought Rivera was likely to be non-tendered before this. He's a generic backup who looks awkward behind the plate, at least compared to Kendall. He does have some pop, but it comes with a low OBP.

[davego]

Eddie Perez was awsome!

[JohnBriggs12]

I thought Rivera was likely to be non-tendered before this. He's a generic backup who looks awkward behind the plate, at least compared to Kendall. He does have some pop, but it comes with a low OBP.

Awkward? I remember some very athletic plays he's made behind the plate and in that game in 08 where he had a start at 1B.

[JohnBriggs12]

I thought Rivera was likely to be non-tendered before this. He's a generic backup who looks awkward behind the plate, at least compared to Kendall. He does have some pop, but it comes with a low OBP.

Not many backup catchers have an OBP higher than .330. They generally bat down in the order and go up there swinging because they don't see regular action. Rivera walked 15 times in 132 PA last year and had a .377 OBP in his limited duty in 08. That's not bad in my book.

[hawing]

Eddie Perez was awsome!

He hit the pole! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[logan82]

"If we can get better, then we'll try to get better," Melvin said. "We have to have depth. We have Salome and Lucroy, we have Kottaras and we still have Rivera, but we don't have a front-line guy." Link

Doesn't sound like he was picked up for anything more than depth. Also doesn't sound like Solome or Lucroy would be more than backups if they were at the MLB level in 2010.

[brewers4eric]

It seems like a nice pickup to add some depth. I thought he was involved in a trade for David Wells a few years ago. I remember reading the Baseball America trade ticker and it went something like "Padres obtain Wells but pay dearly".

 

Kottaras will either make the team in camp or get released. They picked up someone similar a few years ago, I think it was JD Closser. It was Braun's first spring camp and Closser and Braun put up about 7 rbis apiece in the first spring training game and the in game thread was running wild with Brewer fever. Closser was gone before the end of camp and we went with a Graffanino/Counsell platoon at third.

[crewcrazy]

Kottaras will either make the team in camp or get released. They picked up someone similar a few years ago, I think it was JD Closser. It was Braun's first spring camp and Closser and Braun put up about 7 rbis apiece in the first spring training game and the in game thread was running wild with Brewer fever. Closser was gone before the end of camp and we went with a Graffanino/Counsell platoon at third.

Crazy that it seems like so long ago that the Brewers were going with the "Counsellino" platoon at third. I agree that it kind of reminds me of the Closser claim, even if McCalvy seems excited by the move, mentioning every positive waiver claim Melvin has made from Brady Clark to Casey McGehee.

[Hate those Rodents]

brewers4eric wrote:

Kottaras will either make the team in camp or get released. They picked up someone similar a few years ago, I think it was JD Closser.

I was thinking Eric Munson was picked up in a similar fashion more recently, I believe in the past year or two. But Rivera won the backup job.

[brew522]

Funketown wrote:

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.

Hey now! Gary Bennett was GRITTY!

[colbyjack]

It's hard not to like this acquisition, as it really doesn't cost or hurt anything, and similar pickups have led to the emergence of both Scott Podsednik and Casey McGehee.

 

For a Melvin-esque nugget of knowledge, the Brewers drafted George's younger brother James in the 45th round of the 2008 draft.

[joepepsi]

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

Here's something a New Englander friend and Red Sox fan wrote to me this morning:

 

"He's good defensively. He was the personal catcher for Wakefield much of this past season and he did a great job handling the knuckler with a minimum of passed balls. That's no minor achievement--they tried Josh Bard a couple years ago and he couldn't handle it at all. Kottaras also throws better than Varitek.

 

I heard Francona on the radio yesterday. He said they really hated to let him go because (I'm paraphrasing here) he has a good deal of talent and had been a really good kid, did everything they asked without any problems at all. But they had no choice because Varitek will now be the backup, and they didn't want to hold Kottaras's career back any longer. He was pretty highly thought of when Boston acquired him for David Wells in '06, and was touted as the heir apparent for Varitek before the Sawks grabbed VMart at this year's deadline. Look at what Kottaras did in '08 in the International League, a pitcher's league. He hit 22 HRs and drove in 65 with a .350 OBP in 395 ABs. He draws his share of walks. His career minor league averages are .269/.367/.444, for an .811 OPS. That's pretty good production from a catcher. I saw him hit his only ML homer, it was an absolute bomb over 400 feet. Kottaras is still only 26, and is a lefthanded-hitting catcher, which is a commodity. This is a guy who could develop into a regular for somebody who's willing to give him the time. At the very least, he's a competent major-league backup catcher right now. I figured he wouldn't last long. It was a smart move to grab him for just the waiver price."

[jjkoestler]

Thanks, JoePepsi.

[Boisebrewer]

Hey Everyone, first time long time. I think the fact that his left handed bat along with his ability to take a walk and hit a bomb once in awhile has to put him ahead of Kendall and even with Rivera. I think we are looking at a Rivera/Kottaras or Lucroy/Kottaras platoon as long as he doesn't fall on his face in ST.

 

I'm not sure if this has been talked about, but what are the disadvantages to letting Salome and Lucroy just splitting time in AAA and promoting the winner and trading the other?

[RockCoCougars]

Don't really know a thing about him, but here's hoping this guy is this year's McGahee.

[TooLiveBrew]

"He's good defensively. He was the personal catcher for Wakefield much of this past season and he did a great job handling the knuckler with a minimum of passed balls. That's no minor achievement--they tried Josh Bard a couple years ago and he couldn't handle it at all. Kottaras also throws better than Varitek."

 

Ok, that's good enough for me. I thought I remembered something about Kottaras that'd speak well to his defense -- it was the personal catcher for Wakefield thing, but I couldn't recall it. The more I learn about Kottaras, the more I love this pickup. A LHB catcher with (at worst) solid defense, good pop, & good patience? You can't really even find that on the FA market, & Melvin nabbed him basically for free.

[trwi7]

Yeah, nobody should have a problem with this. We now have three relatively young, decent catchers.

[craigharmann]

We now have three relatively young, decent catchers.

And every day it's looking less and less like Kendall will return. That's a good thing.

[Mass Haas]

McCalvy's on fire lately, and tosses some education our way.

[clancyphile]

Hey Everyone, first time long time. I think the fact that his left handed bat along with his ability to take a walk and hit a bomb once in awhile has to put him ahead of Kendall and even with Rivera. I think we are looking at a Rivera/Kottaras or Lucroy/Kottaras platoon as long as he doesn't fall on his face in ST.

 

I'm not sure if this has been talked about, but what are the disadvantages to letting Salome and Lucroy just splitting time in AAA and promoting the winner and trading the other?

Or, keep Lucroy at C, and move Salome to the OF. The Crew could then trade Hart to free more money for pitching.

 

Salome in LF/RF at $400K + a starting pitcher/two relievers > Hart at $5-6 million.

[jrodbrewcrew]

I really, really, really don't see Salome moving to the outfield any time soon.

[PeaveyFury]

Salome in the OF destroys nearly all the value that he has. He could be well above average offensively at a non-offensive position, or average-at-best elsewhere with presumably horrific defense in the OF. Never, ever, ever, going to happen.

[And That]

McCalvy's on fire lately, and tosses some education our way.

Just thought it's interesting to note that at some point last Tuesday or Wednesday, Kottaras decided against becoming a free agent and is now officially a Milwaukee Brewer. Milwaukee is about as wide open as it gets for catching opportunity, so I guess it's not too big of a surprise.