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George Kottaras

Rangers Seek Depth At Second And Catcher

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11:43pm: The Rangers are scouting the Cubs, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, and perhaps not just because of Kottaras. The Cubs also have infielders Darwin Barney and Donnie Murphy. The Rangers like Barney better, Sullivan writes.

4:50pm: In the wake of Soto's injury, the Rangers are considering acquiring George Kottaras of the Cubs, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com tweets. Kottaras currently projects to back up Welington Castillo in Chicago, but the Cubs are reportedly considering rostering John Baker instead. Kottaras, 30, hit .180/.349/.370 in 126 plate appearances for the Royals last year. In response to Soto's injury, the Rangers have already signed Chris Snyder to a minor-league deal.

The Rangers also looked at Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks today, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel tweets. As Haudricourt notes, Weeks' $11MM salary could be an impediment to a trade. Weeks hit .209/.306/.357 in 399 plate appearances with the Brewers last year.

12:08pm: Texas has checked in with several clubs with catching depth, including the Yankees, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Though Francisco Cervelli may be available, Olney says that there does not appear to be a fit between those two clubs.

10:50am: The Rangers have had trade talks in a bid to add depth at catcher and/or second base, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The expected starters at those two spots — catcher Geovany Soto and second baseman Jurickson Profar — are each expected to miss ten to twelve weeks to open the year.

While it would be pure speculation to guess at possible trade partners in this kind of scenario, we can look at the available free agent pool for other alternatives. With the list growing as final roster decisions are made, Texas could look to players like Tony Abreu, Ronny Cedeno, or Cesar Izturis for the middle infield. Meanwhile, available catching options include recently-released players like Ramon Hernandez, Chris Snyder, and Yorvit Torrealba.

Of course, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote yesterday, it could be that the greater concern is with the state of the rotation. That is all the more true now, with this morning's report (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that ace Yu Darvish will miss his Opening Day start and undergo an MRI to determine the cause of his stiff neck.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Players To Avoid Arbitration

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With tonight’s non-tender deadline looming, several players figure to not only be tendered contracts but agree to their 2014 salaries prior to 11pm CT. We’ll run down the players to avoid arbitration with their respective clubs in this post, and remember that you can track the progress on all arbitration eligible players by using MLBTR’s 2014 Arbitration Tracker. For a reminder on the projected salaries for each of these players, check out Matt Swartz’s projections in MLBTR’s Arbitration Eligibles series.

  • The Nationals announced they’ve avoided arbitration with righty Ross Ohlendorf, tweets Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com. Ohlendorf’s deal will guarantee him $1.25MM and can reach $3MM via incentives that can be achieved as a starter or reliever, per the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore.
  • The Cubs have avoided arbitration with utility infielder Donnie Murphy, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com (via Twitter), agreeing to a one-year, $825K pact that includes incentives.
  • The Orioles have avoided arbitration with outfielder Steve Pearce for $850K, tweets Rosenthal.
  • The Padres have reached terms with pitcher Eric Stults on a $2.75MM deal to avoid arbitration, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He had been projected by Swartz to earn $3MM through arbitration. Unlike most arbitration deals, tweets Rosenthal, this one will be guaranteed.  Also getting a guaranteed deal from the Padres, per Rosenthal, is righty Tim Stauffer at $1.6MM.
  • The White Sox have avoided arbitration with catcher Tyler Flowers with a $950k contract, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Athletics have avoided arbitration with righty Fernando Rodriguez, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Rodriguez, who is represented by Metis Sports Management, LLC, will earn $600K plus award bonuses, MLBTR has learned.  The A’s will tender contracts to its remaining arb-eligible players, Slusser notes via Twitter.
  • The Indians have avoided arbitration with relievers Frank Herrmann and Blake Wood, the club announced. Each player will earn $560k, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, which falls below their respective projections from MLBTR’s Matt Swartz.
  • Newly-acquired catcher George Kottaras has reached agreement on a one-year, $1.075MM deal to avoid arbitration with the Cubs, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The contract includes incentives, according to Heyman. A left-handed batter, Kottaras managed only a .180 batting average last year, but got on base at a .349 clip in addition to posting a .370 slugging mark in his 126 plate appearances.
  • The Orioles have avoided arbitration with outfielder Nolan Reimold, sources tell Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (link to Twitter). The 30-year-old will get a one-year, $1.025MM deal that includes incentives. Reimold lost most of the last two seasons to injury, but has a career .252/.327/.439 slash in 1,056 plate appearances dating back to 2009. His salary will be guaranteed, tweets Connolly.
  • The Phillies have avoided arbitration with infielder Kevin Frandsen, the club announced. Frandsen will receive a one-year, $900k deal that includes performance incentives. Last year, Frandsen had a .234/.296/.341 slash line in 278 plate appearances. The deal is guaranteed, Rosenthal tweets.
  • The Braves announced that they have avoided arbitration with infielder Ramiro Pena and left-hander Jonny Venters (Twitter link). Pena, 28, batted a solid .278/.330/.443 in 107 PAs this season before shoulder surgery ended his season. Venters’ contract was first reported two weeks ago and is said to be worth $1.625MM.
  • MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that the Tigers have avoided arbitration with Don Kelly by agreeing to a one-year, $1MM contract for 2014. Kelly will turn 34 in February and batted .222/.309/.343 in 2013 — all numbers that are nearly mirrored by his career .229/.290/.344 batting line. He is represented by LSW Baseball.
  • The Pirates have avoided arbitration with Chris Stewart, according to Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal (on Twitter). Barbarisi reports that the trade sending Stewart to Pittsburgh was actually in place on Friday but was also contingent on Stewart agreeing to a new contract with the Pirates. Stewart, a client of James A. Kuzmich, PLLC, agreed to his new contract today, thereby finalizing the trade. He projected to earn $1MM, per Swartz.

Cubs Acquire George Kottaras

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3:12pm: The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan tweets that the Cubs will send cash to the Royals for Kottaras, who will compete for the backup job in Spring Training.

3:06pm: The Cubs have acquired catcher George Kottaras from the Royals, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Kottaras had been designated for assignment last week.

Kottaras, 30, hit .180/.349/.370 in 126 plate appearances for the Royals in 2013. Kottaras has outstanding plate discipline and power for a catcher, as evidenced by his career 14 percent walk rate and .192 isolated power mark. He struck out in 33.3 percent of his plate appearances in 2013, however, and has whiffed at nearly a 23 percent clip throughout his career. 

Royals Designate George Kottaras For Assignment

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The Royals have designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment, according to a team release. The move clears the way for starting pitcher Jason Vargas to join the Royals' 40-man roster.

Kottaras, 30, hit .180/.349/.370 in 126 plate appearances for the Royals in 2013. Kansas City recently signed catcher Francisco Pena to a big-league deal, adding him to the 40-man roster. That gave them four catchers on their 40-man: Kottaras, Pena, Salvador Perez and Brett Hayes. Kottaras had a projected 2014 salary of $1.2MM and was a non-tender candidate.

Angels Looking For Backup Catcher

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SUNDAY: The Angels are said to like Chris Snyder and Ramon Hernandez with ex-Angel Bobby Wilson, in camp with the Yankees, an interesting possibility, tweets Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez adds Rod Barajas and Wil Nieves, both with the Diamondbacks, and Brett Hayes and George Kottaras, both with the Royals, as other possibilities.

FRIDAY: The Angels "have been out looking for a backup catcher," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  

The team entered the spring hoping that former high-end prospect Hank Conger would lay claim to the back-up spot behind starter Chris Iannetta.  As Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times explored back in February, the team was also considering two journeymen, John Hester and Luke Carlin.  Still young at 25 and offering a natural complement to Iannetta's right-handed bat, Conger seemed the obvious choice if he could move past his history of inconsistency and injury.  

Despite Conger's excellent start on the offensive side of the plate this spring, however, he has struggled behind the dish.  While manager Mike Scioscia has previously expressed confidence that Conger would rein in his wildness in the throwing game, Conger made three errors with his arm last Sunday.  Entering his final option year, the Angels could elect to allow Conger to work out his issues back in Triple-A Salt Lake.  For their part, Hester and Carlin have limited track records at the major league level and are sporting anemic batting lines in pre-season action.

If the Halos are unwilling to let Conger test his arm in a real game, the club may be looking at limited options for an upgrade.  A glance at MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker reveals Matt Treanor as the lone unsigned, free agent backstop.  Barring a more significant trade, the Angels could consider dealing (or scouring the waiver wire) for a more established option as teams like the Diamondbacks and Rockies decide which of their veteran catching options will make their opening day rosters.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

AL Notes: Royals, Happ, Matsuzaka, Longoria

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The Royals will approach their upcoming roster decisions with the goal of preserving "inventory," Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes. That means keeping as many players in the system as possible, which in turn means that players who are out of options will have a better chance of making the team, so the Royals don't risk losing them. The following players are out of options: Bruce Chen, Jarrod Dyson, Jeremy Guthrie, J.C. Gutierrez, Brett Hayes, Luke Hochevar, Elliot Johnson, George Kottaras, Luis Mendoza and Felipe Paulino. Hayes, Kottaras and Adam Moore are battling to back up Salvador Perez at catcher. Since Moore has an option, he will likely return to the minor leagues, and the Royals will choose between Hayes and Kottaras, keeping one while potentially trading or losing the other. The many teams currently on the lookout for catching help will presumably be watching the Royals' situation closely. Here are more notes from the American League.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/16/4125791/inventory-is-key-element-for-royals.html#storylink=cpy

Royals Claim George Kottaras

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The Royals announced that they claimed catcher George Kottaras off of waivers from the Athletics. The A's had designated Kottaras for assignment to create roster space for John Jaso last week.

Kottaras hit nine home runs and posted a .211/.351/.415 batting line in 209 plate appearances last year. Oakland acquired the 29-year-old from the Brewers for Fautino De Los Santos in July. He'll earn $1MM in 2013 and will remain under team control as an arbitration eligible player through 2015.

A’s Designate George Kottaras For Assignment

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The Athletics have designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment, according to a team press release.  The move was made to free up 40-man roster space for the newly-acquired John Jaso, who will take Kottaras' spot as Oakland's primary left-handed hitting catching option.

Kottaras was acquired in July from the Brewers and hit .212/.280/.471 in 93 PAs as an Athletic, giving him a total slash line of .211/.351/.415 in 209 plate appearances for the 2012 season.  Kottaras recently avoided arbitration by agreeing with the A's on a $1MM contract for 2013.

A’s, George Kottaras Avoid Arbitration

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TUESDAY: Kottaras will earn $1MM in 2013, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

MONDAY: The Athletics announced that they avoided arbitration with catcher George Kottaras. The Lapa/Leventhal client agreed to a one-year deal for the 2013 season.

Kottaras had a projected salary of $1.1MM following a season in which he hit nine home runs and posted a .211/.351/.415 batting line in 209 plate appearances. Oakland acquired Kottaras from the Brewers for Fautino De Los Santos in July.

The A's have three remaining arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows: Jerry Blevins, Brandon Moss and Seth Smith.

Athletics To Acquire George Kottaras From Brewers

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SUNDAY, 12:51am: The Brewers will receive right-handed reliever Fautino De Los Santos in the trade according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. The 26-year-old pitched to a 7.25 ERA in 36 Triple-A innings this year and owns a 4.21 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 36 1/3 big league innings with Oakland over the last two seasons.

SATURDAY, 3:05pm: The Brewers and Athletics have agreed on a trade to send catcher George Kottaras to Oakland, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  It's not yet known what the Brewers will receive in return.

Kottaras, 29, was designated for assignment by Milwaukee on Thursday.  The catcher has a .209/.409/.360 slash line in 116 plate appearances this year for the Brewers.  In parts of five big league seasons, Kottaras owns a .221/.326/.402 batting line.  The Brewers replenished their catching depth this afternoon when they inked Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal for the catcher.

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