Free Agent Profile: Mark Kotsay

by Slyde on Nov 3, 2008 4:08 PM EST in Free Agent Profile Comment 26 comments

Whenever I see a rumor or a suggestion by someone that a free agent may sign with the Reds, I am going to try to do a quick profile of that player for discussion purposes. I know today's profile isn't credible beyond one man's theories, but we need to start somewhere...

MLB Trade Rumors has posted their Top 50 free agents on the market with predictions of who each player will play for in 2009. The only player that Dierkes has going to the Reds is...

45. Mark Kotsay - Reds. Kotsay can step in at center field for a year to allow younger players to come along.

Steven Senne/AP

Kotsay is a left-handed hitting outfielder who has played center field most of his career. He was taken by the Florida Marlins with the 9th pick in the 1996 draft and tore up Double-A in 1997 (.306/.407/.514), even earning some playing time in the Majors during July of that year. He was up with the Marlins to stay in 1998 (partly because they had dumped most of their previous season's World Series winning roster).

He spent two seasons with the Marlins before being traded to the Padres for Matt Clement. He finally started to develop some on base skill in San Diego, but he has never really managed to show much power as a Major Leaguer - not that it was expected of him. Where he was truly starting to make a difference was as a strong defensive center fielder, a fact that drew the lustful eye of Billy Beane, who traded Terrence Long and Ramon Hernandez to acquire Kotsay in November of 2003.

Kotsay's defensive skill started to slip a couple of years after going to Oakland though, which didn't help the fact that he was also becoming offensively offensive. Kotsay was injured for a good portion of the 2007 season and sucked for the rest of it. He posted a 57 OPS+ in 56 games with Oakland that season, and he wasn't the same player in CF that he had been just a few years before. In 2008, he split time between Boston and Atlanta and was basically a replacement level player during the year.

He hasn't posted an OBP above .340 since 2004, which is also the last time he was much above average as a defensive player. Honestly, I'm not sure how he makes 45th on Dierkes's list and I'm even more confused why the Reds would want him over Chris Dickerson. That doesn't mean it won't happen, just that I don't see why it should.

For reference sake, here is the breakdown for his last 4 seasons:

Year	PA	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	RAR	Field	TtlVal
2005	629	15	82	5	.280	.325	.421	14.5	-3.0	14.3
2006	558	7	59	6	.275	.332	.386	4.6	-3.0	4.4
2007	226	1	20	1	.214	.279	.296	-8.0	-0.3	-7.0
2008	436	6	49	2	.276	.329	.403	6.0	-10.0	-3.0

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Comments

Sounds like a perfect fit for the Reds

by homerun21 on Nov 3, 2008 4:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Judging on the extremely small sample size of C-Dick

I’d still rather see him (Dickerson) in CF than Kotsay. We already have Hairston:

Year PA HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG RAR Field TtlVal
2007 226 1 20 1 .214 .279 .296 -8.0 -0.3 -7.0
2008 436 6 49 2 .276 .329 .403 6.0 -10.0 -3.0

2008 PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.

~Dwight D. Eisenhower

by Madville on Nov 3, 2008 4:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

we don't already have Hairston

he too is a free agent.

"You never want to give up a 7-0 lead, in your rival's ballpark, that would put them in first place. Never want to do that." - Ron Darling

by Slyde on Nov 3, 2008 4:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pass

by Brendanukkah on Nov 3, 2008 4:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thank goodness.

Playing for the Reds would mean living in Cincinnati, rather than, …anywhere! I like Kots.

by aslide on Nov 5, 2008 2:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Huh

joined up just to insult the city. Well, welcome and go fuck yourself.

Vote Pops in '08. I promise nothing and I'll do it!

by Pops Daniels on Nov 5, 2008 3:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't let him fool you

That’s not a new guy, it’s just Slyde trying to go all White Like Me and see what it’s like to be a poster who’s unconcerned with stats, insight, or social graces.

His crucial flaw was in saying that he liked Kots, because “I like Kots Slyde” is an anagram of “Soiled Tyke Silk.” Clearly this a reference to the dirty onesie belonging to Slyde’s child. Nice try Slyde, but better luck next time!

by Brendanukkah on Nov 5, 2008 4:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you sniffed that one out

Think of me what you will...I gotta little space to fill

by chandrathan on Nov 5, 2008 4:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Fowler Style

What a picture of domestic tranquility... Hemlock on the hearth and my wife feeding the piranha.

by Man Mountain on Nov 5, 2008 4:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And I would've gotten away with it too

if it hadn’t been for you damned kids!

"You never want to give up a 7-0 lead, in your rival's ballpark, that would put them in first place. Never want to do that." - Ron Darling

by Slyde on Nov 5, 2008 5:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

and that dog!

that cute adorable dog of brendan’s

Think of me what you will...I gotta little space to fill

by chandrathan on Nov 5, 2008 5:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

UHHHH here's Cherry's numbers...

2008 PA HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS
261 6 36 15 ,326 .384 .487 .871

Unless Jerry Jr. is hurt all season he’s going to more productive in 1/2 that ABs than Kotsay

We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.

~Dwight D. Eisenhower

by Madville on Nov 3, 2008 4:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

outlier and other stuff

Hairston had a career season. I have to admit he seemed like a catalyst last season when he was in the lineup but the back of his ol’ baseball card has some very meh-like career numbers. .260/.330/.370

Junya’s at 611 homers, fyi. i literally lost track once he left Cincy.

Dunn has hit exactly 40 homers in four consecutive seasons. I need a tool belt to calculate the odds of that occuring. Extra degree of difficulty for hitting that high of a number on the nose in four consecutive seasons.

by obc2 on Nov 3, 2008 5:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dunn is just a player that does the bare minimum to get by

If he was good, he would hit more than 40 home runs, like Ryan Howard.

I bet Dunn only wears 15 pieces of flare too.

"You never want to give up a 7-0 lead, in your rival's ballpark, that would put them in first place. Never want to do that." - Ron Darling

by Slyde on Nov 3, 2008 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

or flair

"You never want to give up a 7-0 lead, in your rival's ballpark, that would put them in first place. Never want to do that." - Ron Darling

by Slyde on Nov 3, 2008 5:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If he wore 15 flares it would be a lot cooler

"Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est."

by jch24 on Nov 3, 2008 5:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

whoooooo

Think of me what you will...I gotta little space to fill

by chandrathan on Nov 3, 2008 5:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

are you?

Woo Woo, Woo Woo!

"Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est."

by jch24 on Nov 3, 2008 5:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, he did have that broken rib

I think a case could be made that he was really rushed, and then he played two years with a broken rib. Recent seasons where he wasn’t injured, he wasn’t bad.

However, given how often he was on the shelf this year, a case could also be made that the broken rib wasn’t a fluke: the guy is fragile, and he’s reached the age where it’s only going to get worse.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Nov 3, 2008 5:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Bill James projection for Kotsay

Hitter      Age  G  AB  H 2B 3B HR  R RBI RC  RC27 BB SO SB CS  Avg  OBP  Slg  OPS
Kotsay,Mark  33 94 295 79 17  1  5 34  32  37 4.41 27 35  2  2 .268 .331 .383 .714

"You never want to give up a 7-0 lead, in your rival's ballpark, that would put them in first place. Never want to do that." - Ron Darling

by Slyde on Nov 3, 2008 5:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ew

Heck no. I will take Chris Dickerson every day of the week over Kotsay and its not even close.

www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Nov 3, 2008 6:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

REALLY bad question

But did anyone have Obama’s grandmother in the pool?

"Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est."

by jch24 on Nov 3, 2008 6:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Nah

But I did get a BJ in the poolhouse.

Vote Pops in '08. I promise nothing and I'll do it!

by Pops Daniels on Nov 3, 2008 6:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No But slyde had Brendan's Mom in the basement!

BTW P-Burgh clubbing ’Skins 16 – 6 – Big Ben out of the game but the Steelers march on with Brian Leftwich is looking good.

We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.

~Dwight D. Eisenhower

by Madville on Nov 3, 2008 10:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Byron Leftwich is on the Steelers now?

Free Agency has ruined the NFL for me. Since I only follow it in-season, I feel like I don’t recognize half of the starters on my favorite teams (bengals, bears) once it starts. It’s too much like a fantasy draft each year for me.

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Nov 4, 2008 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs