Brewers Trade George Kottaras to the A's

Good morning everyone. Yesterday we saw from multiple sources on Twitter that the Brewers were close to making a deal with Oakland that would send George Kottaras to the A's, but who we got in return remained unknown. Well, San Francisco Chronicle writer Susan Slusser has reported that the deal between the A's and Brewers is final, according to two sources. The Brewers get RHP Fautino De Los Santos return for Kottaras.

Here is what she wrote about the deal:

“The A’s have made a move to acquire Milwaukee backup catcher George Kottaras, two major-league sources confirmed, but the deal has not been announced.

According to multiple sources, the Brewers will receive right-handed reliever Fautino De Los Santos, who had a 4.21 ERA in 40 appearances with Oakland in 2011-12 and a 7.25 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento this year.

Kottaras, 29, was designated for assignment Thursday, but it’s unlikely he’d be able to join the club until Monday, one possible reason the news is not yet official.

It is unclear what the A’s plans are for Kottaras and the current catching duo of Kurt Suzuki and rookie Derek Norris, although initial indications were that Suzuki is not heading elsewhere before Tuesday’s trade deadline. That would point toward a possible demotion for Norris, giving Oakland two experienced catchers for the stretch run.

Norris has been starting two games to every one for Suzuki, roughly, but he did endure an 0-for-30 streak recently. He is 4-for-14 since then.

Kottaras is batting .209 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 58 games.”

Here's a little bit of info on Santos to get to know him:

 De Los Santos began his career in the Chicago White Sox organization as a starting pitcher. He played in the Dominican Summer League in 2006. In 2007, he split time between Single-A Kannapolis and Advanced-A Winston-Salem. In January 2008, he was traded along with Ryan Sweeney and Gio Gonzalez to the Athletics for Nick Swisher. During that 2008-2009 season between the A's minors and A's Arizona Fall League, Santos required Tommy John's surgery, and missed all of the 2009 season. After recovering well, he quickly rose through the rankings of the A's system. On May 20th, 2011 he was called up to the A's roster. And, on June 4th, 2011 he made his Major League debut against the Boston Red Sox, striking out Jed Lowrie who was the only batter he faced.

Statistically, this guy is everything you look for when rebuilding a bullpen. He won't hit arbitration until 2015, and won't be a free agent until 2018. He's 26 years of age, and he has a great set of pitches, including a nasty slider. He is a high strikeout pitcher, with career numbers of 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings, which is outstanding for only being in the Bigs for 2 years. To go along with that, he has a 2.30 strikeout per walk ratio, also very good. His ERA is high, which will cause concern for Brewers fans. Need not be afraid my friends. This is nothing but a low risk high reward situation for Milwaukee. Melvin made a great move here.

Until next time, Beers, Brats, and Championships.

-Andrew Vrchota (@WSB_Andrew)

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