One of the better rumors out there ...
Source 1: Gs have made it known that catcher is their top priority. Source 2: Brewers have made it known C Kottaras can be had....less than a minute ago via TweetDeck 
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Henry Schulman
hankschulman
Quite nice. Well, assuming that Kottaras can be had for something between a song and a prospect, he's probably the best option the Giants will have to upgrade the lineup at catcher.
| Year | Age | Tm | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 25 | BOS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .200 | .400 | .600 | 50 |
| 2009 | 26 | BOS | 93 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 25 | .237 | .308 | .387 | .696 | 78 |
| 2010 | 27 | MIL | 212 | 43 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 33 | 44 | .203 | .305 | .396 | .701 | 88 |
| 2011 | 28 | MIL | 31 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | .290 | .324 | .516 | .840 | 127 |
| 4 Seasons | 341 | 75 | 25 | 1 | 12 | 46 | 75 | .220 | .306 | .405 | .711 | 88 | ||
That's Kottaras's major-league career line. If .220/.300/.400 isn't the small wooden spoon to your delicious malt, you're forgetting just how badly the non-Poseys have hit. And there's room to hope for something more, too:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lev | Aff | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20 | Idaho Falls | Rk | SDP | 143 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 19 | 36 | .259 | .348 | .476 | .823 |
| 2004 | 21 | Fort Wayne | A | SDP | 271 | 84 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 51 | 41 | .310 | .415 | .461 | .877 |
| 2005 | 22 | 2 Teams | A+-AA | SDP | 438 | 131 | 36 | 0 | 11 | 69 | 83 | .299 | .392 | .457 | .848 |
| 2006 | 23 | 2 Teams | AA-AAA | SDP | 376 | 96 | 29 | 2 | 10 | 62 | 98 | .255 | .361 | .423 | .784 |
| 2007 | 24 | Pawtucket | AAA | BOS | 294 | 71 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 32 | 71 | .241 | .316 | .408 | .724 |
| 2008 | 25 | Pawtucket | AAA | BOS | 395 | 96 | 18 | 0 | 22 | 64 | 110 | .243 | .348 | .456 | .804 |
| 2009 | 26 | Pawtucket | AAA | BOS | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | .292 | .433 | .417 | .850 |
| 2011 | 28 | Nashville | AAA | MIL | 102 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 29 | .343 | .432 | .559 | .991 |
| 8 Seasons | 2043 | 557 | 142 | 5 | 70 | 319 | 474 | .273 | .370 | .450 | .820 | ||||
He's been on fire this year in AAA. If I had to guess, I think it would be safe to assume that the low-average, good-patience guy from 2006 through 2008 is probably who would show up as a starter in the majors. So I don't want to pretend that Kottaras is some sort of offensive savior to lead this team out of the doldrums. No, he just gives the Giants something that's better than nothing -- or, at least, something that's better than the negative something they've been getting.
But the Brewers are a contending team. They're tied for first. They don't need to ditch a perfectly good backup catcher. The idea that they'll just hand him over with the understanding that the Giants will do them a solid later ... not quite realistic. "Can be had" is code for "give us something really shiny." He's not coming over for Alex Hinshaw and a lock of Brandon Crawford's hair.
So I like the idea of Kottaras, but it scares me that it's coming from a good team. The Brewers are hoping to gouge the Giants, thinking they'll overpay by 400% because they're desperate. As they should, the jackals. But the Giants are probably better off waiting for teams to fall out of the race completely, seeing if they can get something better than a replacement-level catcher for something a little higher than replacement-level trade chips.
Besides, if Kottaras comes over, the Giants would be totally out on Jeff Mathis!
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