George Kottaras is bound for Oakland. (Getty Images) |
The A's have acquired catcher George Kottaras from the Brewers, CBSSports.com Insider Jon Heyman reports. The Brewers had designated Kottaras for assignment on Thursday.
The 29-year-old career backup is batting .209/.406/.360 this season and is a career .221/.326/.402 hitter in four-plus seasons. While Kottaras's batting average leaves much to be desired, he does draw walks and provide some left-handed gap pop on occasion.
The A's have struggled to get output from the position all season, as Oakland catchers -- chiefly Kurt Suzuki and Derek Norris -- have combined for a terrible slash line of .198/.250/.269. The average major-league catcher, meanwhile, is batting .249/.316/.401 in 2012.
In other words, Kottaras figures to provide the A's with a substantial upgrade at the position. To that end, the ZiPS forecasting system projects that Kottaras over the remainder of the season will hit .234/.344/.364. While those numbers are tailored to Miller Park and NL competition, his projection as an Athletic would be similar.
So credit A's GM Billy Beane for applying a low-cost solution to a genuine weakness.
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