Mark Kotsay signs one year deal that brings him back to San Diego Padres
by jbox on Nov 15, 2011 1:22 PM PST
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PrintAnd so the Josh Byrnes era begins... already he is showing the baseball world that he isn't a procrastinator like his predecessor Jed Hoyer, who waited until the last week before Spring Training to start filling his roster. The game is afoot!
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres have signed Mark Kotsay to a $1.25 million one year deal, pending a physical.
@Ken_Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal Sources: Kotsay in agreement with #Padres on one-year, $1.25M contract. Pending physical. #mlb
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A few months ago I heard a radio interview where he said he was considering retirement, but no longer. He must have heard that there is a baseball club in San Diego that allows you to ease into retirement, like you would the cool waters of the Pacific. The Padres probably think they can squeeze a little bit of veteran leadership and hustle out of him, maybe even bring him off the bench to face some right handed pitching in a pinch.
@FollowThePadres
Follow The Padres#Padres dreadful vs. RHP (.229/.301/.340) to add a career .280 hitter vs. RHP for bench job for $1.25m. Please tell me why it's a bad deal.
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Hoyer's attempts at signing fan favorites and veteran leadership didn't pan out last year in the form of Orlando Hudson, Brad Hawpe and Jason Bartlett, so Byrnes knew he had to act quickly to grab likeable former Padres before Kevin Towers could.
It's hard to believe that it was 10 years ago when the Padres first signed Kotsay. So much has changed. The Padres no longer play in Qualcomm Stadium, the 3 Doors Down Kryptonite song fell off the charts.... and that's about it. Everything else is about the same, even the uniforms look like they did in 2001.
Personally I've always liked Mark Kotsay. Of course I haven't really seen him play in 8 years, but if I concentrate hard enough I feel like I can almost remember him chasing down line drives in the gaps and swinging ferociously for the fences. Maybe he can do that sort of thing again if he concentrates hard enough.
He signed my glove back in 2003 when we had some front row seats along the first base line, which is weird since it was probably the only time I've brought a glove to a game. Even stranger is that he signed it in a ball point pen and yet his autograph is still there, clear as day, even after years of use and repetitive oiling. I have my own name written in permanent marker for identification purposes and I've had to re-ink it multiple times since then. It's a strange phenomenon. It's like the story of how Saint Didacus's body remained incorrupt and smelled fragrant long after his death, only with a ball point pen signature and without the fragrant scent.
Anyway, I can already tell that Twitter is going to hate this move, but if it's between Kotsay and Geoff Blum I don't mind giving Kotsay a try again.
Mark Kotsay
#0 / Right Field / San Diego Padres
6-0
210
Least favorite mammal
L
Dec 02, 1975
Married: Jamie Kotsay
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Only a casual mention of Jamie Kotsay?
For shame.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
GROSS
repetitive oiling
http://twitter.com/matthewverygood
by matthewverygood on Nov 15, 2011 1:26 PM PST reply actions
Glad to see him back!
He’ll be the one player I’ll recognize! He’s sure to be a fan favorite again!
Where in the world is Khalil?
by TheVinylCrocodile on Nov 15, 2011 1:28 PM PST reply actions
Why
Fire Bud Black.
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. -- Vince Lombardi
by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Nov 15, 2011 1:40 PM PST reply actions
i like kotsay
but couldn’t he be a bench coach or something? i thought blake tekotte was going to be our mark kotsay this year and MLB rules say you can only have one mark kotsay on the field at a time.
what can we really expect from him? occasional spot start in the outfield and a bench bat with no power?
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 1:41 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Tekotte isn't quite ripe yet
P.S. We play at Petco. Everyone has no power.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
righties might
though with the current roster the only guys i see with even 20 hr power are blanks, and perhaps hundley and guzman if they were to somehow get enough ABs. darnell and maybin are possibilities down the line.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 2:26 PM PST up reply actions
What does a .373 SLG at Miller Park equate to at Petco, .150?
by EvilSammy on Nov 15, 2011 2:32 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe
Kotsay doesn’t hit that many HRs and even though he’s old I’d guess his doubles are more speed related than power related. Because of the park effects he’s likely to see some dropoff, no doubt. However, one could argue it’d be less of a dropoff than say, Brad Hawpe or Ryan Ludwick or whatever.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
just for fun
i ran his batted ball s against some padres…. he was most similar to brad hawpe in terms of distribution between LD/GB/FB, but obviously below most players in terms of hr/fb. he’s not totally unlike will venable, but without the maddening infield FB%. to side with wonko i don’t really expect his slugging % to drop off too much because its not as if he was hitting the towering off-the-wall doubles (his peripherals would suggest he didn’t reach the fences that often).
obviously the big difference between kotsay and a lot of our past outfielders is that he is great at putting the ball in play. he strikes out less than half as often as guys like venable or ludwick. now that’s a great thing situationally that doesn’t necessarily show up in WAR, assuming budbot is capable of using kotsay’s bench bat strategically. as a craig counsell-type bench player he can be useful.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 3:23 PM PST up reply actions
I wasn't really looking for an in depth analysis of Kotsay
vis a vis Petco, Padres pitching, etc. I was just ridiculing the move.
I didn't think Tekotte would be our mark kotsay
I did think Venable was going to be our lefty bench bat/4th OF though. I guess there is room for Venable and Kotsay on the team, but probably not if it’s going to be any good.
by Antonio Olivares on Nov 15, 2011 3:21 PM PST up reply actions
The least favorite mammal line is so excellent.
Bolts from the Blue // "Go for the throat, Norval." - Jim Rome
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan
No.
Right now, even with Will starting the bench still has room for Kotsay, Deno, Gonzalez, Forsythe and Martinez. On my tentative 25 man roster I removed Aaron Cunningham to add Kotsay.
So, this means Will is still the starter and probably a platoon partner with Deno. Kotsay backs up the other OF spots and 1B.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
Emphasis on the concept, "FOR NOW"
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
wouldn't be surprised to see venable traded
his career line away from petco is .272/.336/.435 and he’s a versatile defender with speed. the club is said to be shopping either hudson or bartlett. i could see venable being thrown in to get a better return. perhaps we could net a backup catcher or at least free up money for a starting outfielder.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 2:23 PM PST up reply actions
I could only see that happening
If they already had a corner outfielder targeted that they were confident they could acquire. Otherwise you’re trade three above replacement level starters and risking not finding suitable replacements for any of them.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
* hudson or bartlett
from what i’ve read they are interested in moving one but not both. besides norf and venable are basically a wash in terms of production
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 2:30 PM PST up reply actions
They are only a wash in a vacuum
I think they actually complement each other since they both seem to run hot and cold. Plus, Venable cannot hit lefties.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
i see what you're saying
but each of them would probably be better behind a more established starter. with the flux that’s likely in left this season (darnell, blanks, guzman, etc.) it’d be a good idea to have more continuity in right as both venable and denorfia seem to get exposed when they have to play too much.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 2:59 PM PST up reply actions
I just don't know how you go about acquiring that more established starter
I suspect that the FO has a similar issue.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
tie up alberto gonzalez
sacrifice him to the baseball gods
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 6:14 PM PST up reply actions
Not Bartlett!
He was my favorite player last year. Sure he had some mistakes, but I think he was one of our most solid player and he made some spectacular turns for double plays
MY NAME'S AL HARRINGTON, I GET BUCKETS
And if we get rid of Hudson
Who’s gonna tap dat ass?
Why ask a failed romance to come watch your successful one? You know, that's like inviting the Seattle Mariners to a World Series game. It's just weird for everyone.
show jimmy fallon his 2009 stats
and convince him that bartlett is nomar garciaparra
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 9:47 PM PST up reply actions
What about Deno?!
"Rob Johnson does not suck" --me
"Norf is straight up awesome on b-holes out there."--TheThinGwynn (sort of)
"I hate Rob Johnson's stupid face"-- sdchicken
I don't think Deno's role is changed by this signing.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
Good, can't wait for some Deno dives in the outfield this season
"Rob Johnson does not suck" --me
"Norf is straight up awesome on b-holes out there."--TheThinGwynn (sort of)
"I hate Rob Johnson's stupid face"-- sdchicken
[Comment From Jesse Jesse: ]
Do you imagine a scenario where we could, say, sell Hudson to a Japanese team?
by Natrone Means Business on Nov 15, 2011 10:44 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
This still makes me angry
And laugh a little bit as another sliver of my soul withers away into oblivion
Ehhhh, I don't deserve a signature...
by sdchicken on Nov 16, 2011 2:16 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
I love that line about bats
"Rob Johnson does not suck" --me
"Norf is straight up awesome on b-holes out there."--TheThinGwynn (sort of)
"I hate Rob Johnson's stupid face"-- sdchicken
I hope Moorad is getting a kickback
for all his old players he’s signing. This is borderline obscene. The only requirement to be a Padre, whether its in the FO or on the field, is to be buddies with Moorad. Skill? Competence? Ability? Desire?
F*** it
Understanding is a three edged sword; your side, their side and the truth.
Bolttalk Podcast - the Best Chargers show on the Web!
by TheAxManCometh on Nov 15, 2011 2:59 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
c'mon you know that
KT would be all over this if he was still here. he is probably on the phone with steve finley right now.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 3:07 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
100% agree
Isn’t this the same reason we ended up being the only team willing to sign Orlando Hudson to a multi year deal?
"Well, he ought to go home and find somebody else to bang." Jerry Coleman
by cubbuster on Nov 16, 2011 5:50 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Kryptonite!
Good to see my favorite player from the 2002 Padres is back.
Padres record when attending games this season: 1-8
by padres4life on Nov 15, 2011 3:07 PM PST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
not to get you too excited but...
oliver perez, brett tomko, and brian lawrence are all available.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 3:27 PM PST up reply actions
What about Brian Tollberg?
Where in the world is Khalil?
by TheVinylCrocodile on Nov 15, 2011 4:08 PM PST up reply actions
Perez says he wants to stay in the Washington organization.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
I just don't see the point
Last year vs. LH’s Kotsay hit 259, the year before he hit 258. Both years he had no power. Those years he played in Milwaukee and Chicago. He’s going to be terrible in Petco.
Why would you want him on the team? He brings nothing to the table other than being old. He’s a bad hitter versus left or right handed pitchers, he can’t field, he’s only going to be getting older and worse at baseball.
Plus, Bud Black is our manager. The dude manages like it’s little league and every player needs to get his share of playing time. You know he’s going to give Kotsay 60+ starts next year.
It’s a waste of a roster spot. It really limits their decisions going forward. Someone I’d rather have over Kotsay is not going to make this team now.
by Antonio Olivares on Nov 15, 2011 3:44 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
rec'd based on the bashing of bud black
I’ll rec pretty much any bud black bashing
by kevintheoman on Nov 15, 2011 4:06 PM PST up reply actions
Oops, those avgs are vs. RHP not lefties
Obviously he doesn’t get many chances vs. LHP.
by Antonio Olivares on Nov 15, 2011 6:24 PM PST up reply actions
Definition of a replacement player
2.5% closer to that “payroll that starts with a 5”!
We’ve hit a new low.
by Marver on Nov 15, 2011 3:46 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Kot say I like this acquisition very much.
by soulSD on Nov 15, 2011 3:52 PM PST reply actions 6 recs
As a Brewers fan… thanks for taking him. How many 10 hop grounders to second base did he hit last year? Another player who should realize it’s time to retire.
You're welcome
San Diego is THE place for 10-hop-grounders-to-second hitters come to retire.
by EvilSammy on Nov 15, 2011 4:29 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Are you sure
you don’t want Blum back? Towers has signed so many other gritty veterans for our (the Dbacks) bench, he really doesn’t fit in anymore
Oh where oh where have my Dbacks gone? Oh where oh where could they be!
by imstillhungry95 on Nov 15, 2011 4:46 PM PST reply actions
"And for my next offseason acquisition: Mark Kotsay. He will---wait, what? You say the Padres already signed him? WHAT???"
Ehhhh, I don't deserve a signature...
by sdchicken on Nov 15, 2011 4:47 PM PST reply actions 5 recs
the gunslinger will respond in kind
he’s always got a trick up his sleeve
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 6:16 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Can the Padres afford such a large contract with Kotsay?
His K is more than double the Padres average. At this rate, the Padres could end up with a payroll of $35 million! But I am ok with it as long as we trade him by mid-June to spare the ownership the expense.
Why in the heck would we offer arbitration to Will Venable? He is 29 yrs old and made $444k last year. What has he ever done to finally earn a good wage after playing baseball his entire life?
And what kind of organization is this if they can’t dump all of their players before they become eligible for arbitration. Isn’t this the new and improved Moneyball way of running an organization?
The Padres already have basically committed $40M to their payroll
Assuming they don’t just start non-tendering and trading left and right. They’d have to start doing something more suspicious that overpaying for an aging backup to convince me that they aren’t increasing their payroll.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
as noble as your apologist attempts are
Rumors are already out there that the padres are trying to dump the salaries of Hudson and Bartlett.
"Well, he ought to go home and find somebody else to bang." Jerry Coleman
by cubbuster on Nov 16, 2011 5:53 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
arguing that the padres management have committed to a 40 mill payroll so far
When rumors state that they are trying desperately to dump salary.
"Well, he ought to go home and find somebody else to bang." Jerry Coleman
by cubbuster on Nov 17, 2011 12:15 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Should they keep unproductive players,
in order to hit their projected payroll in the month of November?
no, we have ~$40m
sort of committed already to people who aren’t under official contract but will be getting arbitration raises. stauffer, headley, etc. those guys aren’t going anywhere, even though other clubs have tried to acquire them.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 17, 2011 10:18 AM PST up reply actions
from what i hear
any trade involving hudson would likely involve us eating some of his salary
by iheartyourfart on Nov 17, 2011 10:16 AM PST up reply actions
I have a theory on the arbitration thing...
I will have to save it for another post, but it involves getting to arbitration intentionally.
Kotsay is the clubhouse Spic'N'Span.
His positive clubhouse leadership aura will scrub the O’Dawg negativity away
- assuming O’Dawg gets shipped elsewhere. Moving him to Colorado would
be diabolical, having him destroy a division rival’s clubhouse cohesion. The only
thing that would reconstitute the clubhouse atmosphere back to 2010 levels
would be bringing Eckstein back as the assistant hitting coach.
by wegotballsley on Nov 15, 2011 5:11 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
There is something to be said
For trying to add a veteran presence to the clubhouse. I know that gets poo-pooed a lot when you’re looking purely at numbers. The Padres don’t have a lot of these veteran players and the ones they do have aren’t exactly clubhouse leaders. If they can buy that without have to use a starting spot, I think that might be a win.
That can account for the extra cost involved in getting a replacement level player. Also, we should probably get used to having to overpay a little for in-demand hitters (and Kotsay was wanted back in Milwaukee).
And just because I can make a case for management (that doesn’t involve his former agent and black helicopters), doesn’t mean I like what they are doing. I just can understand the nuance.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
I agree.
Sabermetrics are good for fantasy teams but real sports are played by humans. Humans need leaders and encouragement. WAR, OPS, and xFIP mean little when a young player is in an 0-12 slump and a veteran player tells him to relax, or play within himself, or puts Icy-Hot in his jock strap or whatever veterans do to get a young player to stop pressing. We are going to see some of those young Padres in San Antonio real soon and someone will need to “hold their hand.” Is Kotsay that guy? I suppose he could be as good as any one else. Does he have a relationship with Phil Plantier?
Forget the brown...Bring back Hudson & Bauer!
that's a lie
When was the last time you saw a human play a sport?
[I have self-censored a Khalil joke that was pretty dang funny, but also not PC]
I picture
Josh Byrnes and KT in a Tug of War with all
fan favorite ex-Padres in the middle.
mine. MINE. mine. MINE.
~Chicks dig the BOOMSTICK~
i remember seeing him in a braves uniform
on tbs… it must have been right before WCW nitro
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 9:33 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, he went on to have a fairly lackluster and ineffective career
As a kid when I started first watching Padres games, I think I saw him manage to pitch a decent game and he became one of my favorite players thanks merely to serendipity and overall ignorance of his stats. :-p
Ehhhh, I don't deserve a signature...
Had a decent slider, that was about it. Couldn't close his starts.
"When you find your way. Then you see it disappear."
Is this about Khalil Greene?
"Rob Johnson does not suck" --me
"Norf is straight up awesome on b-holes out there."--TheThinGwynn (sort of)
"I hate Rob Johnson's stupid face"-- sdchicken
would be all over this
if not for his insanely long pre-pitch ritual
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 9:13 PM PST up reply actions
Nice to see Kotsay back.
Even nicer to hear they’re shopping Bartlett. Now if only they’d throw cancer, I mean Hudson in with him.
Padres are definitely
a playoff team now
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
by Hormel on Nov 15, 2011 8:53 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
I feel like Kotsay would be a great addition in terms of leadership
and that will make up for his lack of producing/diminishing skills. The 2012 Padres needs leadership.
Where in the world is Khalil?
by TheVinylCrocodile on Nov 15, 2011 9:41 PM PST reply actions
alright little buddy
i’ll have you take lessons from bill pullman in independence day. see how you do.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 15, 2011 9:48 PM PST up reply actions
Then sign him as a coach or instructor. He does not belong on the field.
He has hit 18% below league-average since 2006 and has a UZR of -30 in the outfield over the same time. Oh, and his base running is a -7.7 in that same span. Can I also mention that every at-bat he gets and every inning in the field will take time away from Rizzo, Blanks, Tekotte, Guzman… He has been worth -1.8 fWAR and -3.0 rWAR in that span as well. This is a horrible signing.
I don't know if he can still play
But he was a teammate of Tony Gwynn Sr. – I don’t think we’ve had one of those active since Trevor left. It’s nice to have a link to my youth, especially now with Kaddafi dead.
by Seapig on Nov 16, 2011 5:18 AM PST reply actions 5 recs
geesh,
this team is ridiculous. Kotsay?
"There are two great tragedies in life: One is not getting what one wants; the other is getting it."
"I like to consider the padres' team as a microcosm, or symbolic representation of my daily endeavor towards inner salvation." — Mysterious Cloaked Padre Fan
its an okay to meh move
I do like the thought of signing vets to be a bench/platoon player, instead of signing an over the hill vet/clubhouse guy and sticking them with 600 ABs.
"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
by Ron Mexico on Nov 16, 2011 8:11 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Exactly
I think I even had a response queued if some asked me if this was a good or bad move, “It’s neither, it’s a meh move.” Kinda like when the Padres traded to get Alberto Gonzalez last year. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t bad. It was “meh”.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
but I like the thougth
use the bench for veteran presence, keep the AB for the players that can produce or can get better.
"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
Yup.
I just keep hearing all this static about the cost. I don’t see how it’s that much in the grand scheme of things.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
They are already working on waiving Alberto Gonzalez today
Replacing him with Everth Cabrera (or somebody else close to league minimum) saves them about $360K. These are pretty easy dollars for the MLB club to work with.
"second base is the bizness." -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - San Diego Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fans
Let's check out wRC+ for Padres OF's last season.
Cameron Maybin 112
Will Venable 107
Chris Denorfia 107
Kyle Blanks 103
Aaron Cuningham 79
Blake Tekotte 55
And new free agent signing Mark Kotsay with 95! Yep, I think he’ll fit in very nicely with that group.
"When you find your way. Then you see it disappear."
Considering he would be playing behind
Blanks and Ahead of Cunningham, it could be argued its an improvement there.
Scowling at Padres Losses since 1981
The Padres needed a backup Middle Infielder though
They don’t really need a Mark Kotsay. It seems early in the offseason to be making a non-impact move that limits your options going forward.
I feel like the bench spot to use for veteran presence should have been backup middle infielder since that is an actual need on the team.
by Antonio Olivares on Nov 16, 2011 6:43 PM PST up reply actions
that might change
given what happens with bartlett and hudson
by iheartyourfart on Nov 16, 2011 7:36 PM PST up reply actions
I should clarify
They needed a backup middle infielder when they signed Alberto Gonzalez. So that move made sense to me.
This Kotsay move doesn’t. It’s still early enough in the offseason that the move could make sense later, but right now it seems like it was a bad idea.
by Antonio Olivares on Nov 17, 2011 11:16 AM PST up reply actions
Not sure about that
Frandsen had a good year in AAA this year. And when he was healthy he was a .269 hitter in MLB.
gonzo was a far superior fielder
i think jed said that was his bigger priority in the backup infielder position. i agree though that there are better options than wasting a roster spot on gonzalez. forsythe is arguably a better option at second and third base, and byrnes seems to be much higher on e-cab than jed was.
by iheartyourfart on Nov 17, 2011 10:20 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah, Alberto seems to make a lot of sense for this club.
I’m not sure getting rid of him makes any sense.
"When you find your way. Then you see it disappear."
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