The Miami Herald and WTMJ in Milwaukee are reporting that Brewers GM Doug Melvin has swooped in and acquired third baseman Corey Koskie. To get him, they sent righthanded reliever Brian Wolfe to Toronto. Wolfe is a 25 year-old career minor leaguer with little chance of ever seeing the big leagues. This was a salary dump, as Koskie is owed $5.25MM in 2006 and $5.75MM in 2007. His $6.5MM 2008 option can be bought out for $500,000. However, the option becomes guaranteed if Koskie gets at least 796 plate appearances over the next two seasons.
Koskie will be entering his age 33 season with a career line of .277/.369/.455. He’s averaged just 115 games over the last three seasons. His latest injury was a broken thumb with ligament damage. If the Jays are throwing in some cash, it’s another smart acquisition by Doug Melvin. Koskie’s not terribly expensive, and if the Brewers can keep him on the field they’ll get decent on-base skills and 20-25 HR. The move rightly puts Bill Hall back into more of a utility role, although he’ll start at third with southpaws on the mound. The platoon could easily result in Milwaukee getting 30 HR out of the third base spot in ’06.
RotoWorld speculates that righty masher 3B/1B/OF Russell Branyan could be traded. Which club would benefit from his services? The Twins, Phillies, and Indians would be good fits.
