The Padres agreed to terms with Mark Kotsay on a one-year deal, the team announced today. The contract is worth $1.25MM. Kotsay previously played for the Padres from 2001-03; he was one of their best players during that time.
“We are elated to bring Mark back to the Padres,” said GM Josh Byrnes. “His versatility and leadership will be invaluable for our club.”
Kotsay, 35, hit .270/.329/.373 in 255 plate appearances for the Brewers this year, spending time at all three outfield positions and first base. Kotsay, who resides 35 minutes from Petco Park in Rancho Santa Fe, California, is represented by Legacy Sports Group.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides had reached an agreement.
Another hitter to bite the Petco dust…
He bit the dust a while ago.
Without Kotsay the Brewers do less than they did in 2011. So, “Brewerfan” what does that say for your squad that already visited the peak of their proverbial mountain. Talk about biting the dust. Thank God, the Brewers and their novice “Beastmode” are back to obscurity.
a little harsh?
Somebody didn’t get their nap today.
If the Brewers didn’t have Mark Kotsay last year, I’m sure they could have scrounged together 50 outfield starts and a .700 OPS somehow.
Guys like Kotsay are a dime a dozen. Having said that, he had a really solid year off the bench for the Crew. He’s easily replaced by [insert washed up utility corner outfielder’s name here] next year.
Not every [insert washed up utility corner outfielder’s name here] manages to put the value Kotsay did last year.
Kotsay doesn’t usually manage to put up the value that Kotsay did last year.
Enlighten me. With who? Gomez? Uh no.
If Gomez is the first person that comes into your mind when I say “washed up corner OF”, you probably shouldn’t be involved in this conversation.
Seriously. DeweyEvans, you’re really not impressing anyone with your lack of baseball knowledge. Maybe stop with the negative comments on the Brewers until you do some research of their 2011 season. For the record, Gomez’s defense alone was worth nearly 2 WAR’s. Kotsay? Replaceable.
Have fun watching Kotsay try to roam around spacious Petco Park, Pads fans. And enjoy his eroding bat while you’re at it. Why they needed to sign him now is a mystery to me. They already have enough marginal OF’s.
“Without Kotsay the Brewers do less than they did in 2011.” What exactly were you watching last season? Clearly was not Major League Baseball. Any warm body could have performed Kotsay’s role for Milwaukee in 2011. Probably better, considering Roenicke decided to trot Kotsay out in CF for a few disastrous games (including the playoffs…again, what were you watching?).
So Kotsay’s declining skill set nets him a 50% raise in his hometown. Gotta love his agent.
Bleh, not a fan of this move. Why not use Venable as your left handed bench bat? Kotsay seems like a waste of a roster spot to me.
Because Venable is going away. Read the writing on the wall. The Padres are done waiting for him to live up to his potential.
If you don’t want to audition Venable for starting RF anymore that’s fine. The guy makes a great 4th OF though. He’s a lefty with some pop, great speed, great defense, capable of playing all the OF positions. Seems like a valuable tool to have on your bench.
Venable is not as good as Denorfia. And that = Buh Bye. Dont let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
Not like Denorfia is any good either.
Denorfia = .277/.337 while playing 1/2 games in Petco with one of the top defensive WAR in baseball.
Not sure what you think good is for a 4th OF.
None of the guys outside of Guzman and Blanks (not counting Maybin) are worth keeping around in that outfield anyways. The only reason you keep Guzman around is cause the guy hits, and I guess hope and pray the baseball Gods allow Blanks to stay healthy and produce like he did in 09. At least power wise.
Seriously, this move makes no sense to me. The Padres don’t need another backup OF. And not for $1.25M. Venable was pretty solid in the second half of the season. And even in his first year of arby won’t be paid that much.
typical padre move. was once a good ball player; now returning home to retire. I will say, however, that Kotsay is still a pretty good hitter.
He had a line of 270/329/373 last year in Milwaukee. That translates to like 240/299/323 in Petco. They have many internal options that could do better.
Is there some sort of rule that a lefty bench bat has to be old and bad at baseball?
Kotsay will be the Padres LHB bench option. Not the everyday RF. In any case, I still don’t understand why not just go with Jeremy Hermida instead. I’m assuming to boost clubhouse “chemistry”.
I will just hope a trade is in the works for a young, talented RF instead.
I’d personally take Kotsay over Hermida, besides the additional roster flexibility with Kotsay being able to backup CF, dude makes solid contact. 63 k’s over the last two years in 609 PA’s. Hermida struck out 19 times in 48 PA with the Pads which would give him 241 k’s in 609 PA’s. Lot of strikeout prone starters on the club. Guys like Kotsay and Denorfia are nice fits on the bench due to their contact abilities, even if neither is flashy.
I think even the stathead community is ready to write off Hermida by this point.
Hermida supposedly headed to Japan per rumors of the last week or so
Japanese team was interested. Inquired on him.
Great points! Warming up.
Good point, I was getting tired of virtually every Padre hitter getting more K’s in a month than Tony Gwynn would get in an entire year.
…or getting more Ks in one season that Tony got in his 20 year career.
My guess is Venable will be left off the 40 man come Nov. 15.
Borderline LH power don’t happen in Petco.
Adrian went to left-center with his power…right-center too deep, even with that ugly “porch” down the RF line.
It’s only a matter of time (2 years ) before Rizzo is history.
If the Padres are serious, which they aren’t, they should make every attempt to get Andruw Jones to play RF.
I know AJ has dogged it far more than played hard during his career, but the guy absolutely mashed at Petco.
Check the stats for HRs, RBIs, SLG% for all RH hitters in Petco…Andruw Jones is at or near the top of all categories.
BTW….I burned my Charger gear last Friday and bought Raider gear on Saturday.
I’ll burn my Padre gear tomorrow and buy Giants gear on Thursday.
Dont know that I like the idea of the fat slob patrolling any part of Petco.
Jones brings the entire wrong attitude to the game. I seriously doubt the Padres go after him. Much more likely they make a trade for a RHB to play a corner OF position.
I only want that fatty playing RF if its Andruw Jones circa 2000.
One word tells the whole reason for Kotsay over
Hermida – strikeouts.
FWIW he’s only costing 1.25 million and on a 1 year contract gives guys like Decker a year to learn in AAA
Like I said, Kotsay will be the left handed bench option. So, there should be no correlation between Kotsay and prospects like Decker. If Decker makes his debut this year, which is unlikely (aside from maybe a September call up) he will play everyday. I’m warming up to the sign for several reasons.
The Correlation is Kotsay can play every OF position and some first so his flexibility allows them the freedom to mature their prospects. Guys like Decker and Tekotte don’t need to be up until they’re ready. It’s an ok sign but could mean the end of Venable’s days.
I don’t even think Decker is at AAA yet. He struggled a bit at San Anton.
Mark Kotsay must be the nicest dude in the universe. Otherwise, I have no idea how a guy worth NEGATIVE 3.0 WAR over the last six seasons keeps getting a gig as a 1B/DH/corner OF/pinch hitter. Probably two out of every three AAA teams have some guy in his late 20s who’d kill for that chance and could do at least as well for the minimum.
Being nice and classy will get you far in life. He’s one of the most
liked players and can offer veteran leadership to a club lacking in one.
I don’t doubt it. I wasn’t being facetious. He really must be a clubhouse leader par excellence.
Not to mention, he gets a big, fat 50% raise from his 800K contract in Milwaukee. I can’t imagine there was a bidding war for the guy. Really makes zero sense to me.
Mark Kotsay must be the nicest dude in the universe. Otherwise, I have no idea how a guy worth NEGATIVE 3.0 WAR over the last six seasons keeps getting a gig as a 1B/DH/corner OF/pinch hitter. Probably two out of every three AAA teams have some guy in his late 20s who’d kill for that chance and could do at least as well for the minimum.
the upside of this signing is that kotsay can offer leadership
I’ve always been a fan of Kotsay, ever since his days at Cal State Fullerton. I understand the guy is a seasoned veteran and his stats are lowering by the year, but he can still offer a great deal of leadership while playing outfield and first base. In the grand scheme of things, $1.25MM is chump change.
i agree the padres are in big need of leadership, especially if we lose bell.
Boston is getting hard up for a closer. Bell is on their short list.
Hey Red Sox, anyone else you need from the Padre’s roster, just ask and we will give it to you.
Latos ?…Maybin ?…Ya want the ODog ? Ya want Kotsay’s wife ?
the upside of this signing is that kotsay can offer leadership
Adios Kotsay, thanks Padres!
Another Brewer “fan” without a clue
lol k
Moorad client, ugh terrible move huge downgrade over venable
He’s a bench option. He’s not going to play “OVER” Venable.
Kotsay will push Ven….right off the roster.
Kotsay will be the 2nd coming of John VanderWall for SD…4th OF,back-up 1B, DH, PH.
Kotsay and Vandy could pass for twin brothers with a 15 year age difference..
No he won’t.
Kotsay will post an OPS of about .620.
Kotsay will beg Buddy Black to play CF. And will remind us of Jim Edmonds’ exploits in Petco a few years back.
Hmm…maybe there’s some entertainment value here.
Seriously? He was a Moorad client? Well, there’s your answer. Ridiculous. What a waste of a roster spot. And $1.25M for a team that continues to cry poor.
Kotsay was a decent bat off the bench for the Brewers last year. He didn’t hit for power at all so I really don’t think there will be a big drop off in his move to Petco.
As a Brewer fan, I just didn’t think of Kotsay as a decent bat off the bench last year. Maybe it was because our bench was pretty awful with very little power.
As a casual Padre fan (since I live in SD), it makes me look longingly on the day the Pads signed Jorge Cantu last year. And we all know how that turned out.
Jorge cantu is a power hitter. Kotsay is a contact hitter. not a very good comparison.
this is a bad, bad, BAD signing… WTF
Really?? A bad bad signing? How so?? Kotsay is a great clubhouse guy signed cheap (about a million) who can theoretically play all three outfield positions and 1B…what makes it so horrible?
Great clubhouse guys shouldn’t be paid $1.25M, especially for a team with a shoestring payroll who continues to cry poor.
What I don’t get is that there is no way a market developed for him in the short time of free agency this off-season. Kotsay was paid $800K in Milwaukee last season. So why does he deserve a 50% for the opportunity to play in the city he lives in? None of this makes sense to me. And he will take away a roster spot of someone who could not suck more, and possibly break out. Cunningham? Venable?
Kotsay was a beast on MVP Baseball 2003 🙂
His bat was below average last year, even though he was used pretty heavily in a platoon role. His defense, however, was truly terrible. Everything the Padres can squeeze out of his bat he will give back in the field.
This will be one of those Padres moves that people would look back on and pat Josh on the back. He brings experience, leadership, contact bat and he was a fan favorite in SD (if I remember correctly). Nice first signing of the off season.
By that logic, I hear Nate Colbert is available.
Upside to this deal? Mark probably has one of the hottest baseball wives in the game imo.
yea she’s right up there with Kris Benson’s wife. she’s fine
The Padres were the “little engine that could” in 2010 because they had such a strong bench full of veteran leadership. Hoyer admitted that he overlooked the importance of leadership last off season. Byrnes is trying to build a strong bench like the team had in 2010, this is a good start. Sure Kotsay may be past his prime, but he plays the game the right way, always hustling. That was the biggest thing I saw lacking last season compared to 2010, no hustle, no urgency. Now if they could just give some kind of job to Eckstein so he can teach the younger guys that effort will never let you down, this would already be a good off season.
Darn, might be the end of Denorfia Dives in San Diego…
Deno and Ven stay…. for now….plenty of room on the 40 man roster for Kotsay…and others.
Let’s see what shakes out of the net on Nov. 15.
Lotsa non-tendered MLB FAs to fill rosters I’m sure.
I just hope the Padres steer clear of the rule 5 draft….no more Evereth Cabreras, no more Eric Pattersons….no more wasted roster space.
There is room on the 40 man, but it has to push someone off the 25 man. If they still have plans to sign an everyday RF I guess it means Rizzo definitely starts at AAA, Guzman starts at 1B. Then the bench is: Kotsay, Venable, Deno, Util-3B/SS/2B, C
food, underrated signing. From Dodgers fan.
Kotsay is a good signing. Veteran to come off the bench and fill in at all 3 OF positions and 1B. Good character guy that can be the leader in the clubhouse they have been missing.
Probably get 200-250 ABS, hit in 260s with a handful of dingers.
I like it.
Won’t break 125 at bats…..
He should be nowhere near CF next season. He probably shouldn’t be in RF either, for that matter. Seriously, folks need to forget about the 2002 version of Mark Kotsay. It was 10 years ago.
My biggest fear is Kotsay with 400 PA. Heck even 300 abs
And he immediately becomes the Padre’s best hitter!!
At least its not Brad Hawpe at $3mm last year. I’m not 100% on the money part.
“We are elated to bring Mark back to the Padres,” Really
Josh? Elated? Are you guys that desperate for players? What no one wants to
play in San Diego?