Padres set to add grade-A catcher

By: SHAUN O'NEILL - Staff Writer | Tuesday, November 18, 2003 10:32 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- The Padres haven't had a catcher hit a dozen home runs since Benito Santiago blasted 17 in 1991. They haven't had a catcher with 60 RBIs since Santiago drove in 87 runs that same year.

It's no wonder then, that the Padres are willing to part with a player they touted as part of the "core" that would carry the team into contention next season at Petco Park.

Padres general manager Kevin Towers on Tuesday agreed to trade popular center fielder Mark Kotsay to the Oakland Athletics to get workhorse catcher Ramon Hernandez and outfielder Terrence Long, a swap of three 27-year-olds who should have plenty of baseball ahead.

The trade sent media outlets scurrying Tuesday, with several reporting it as a done deal. The teams, however, made no announcements. The holdups were the condition of Kotsay's back and, more to the point, the conditions in his contract.

Still, Padres personnel expected to make the deal official today.

"There is one deal we're strongly considering and we're close to finalizing," Towers said, declining to field specific questions. "There are some minor details that need to be ironed out on their side. Hopefully, something will get done."

Insiders said the Athletics hadn't signed off completely, pending a review of an MRI exam taken on Kotsay's back last summer. A disc problem hampered him all year as he struggled to bat .263 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs. Also, Kotsay's contract is a complication.

Kotsay is due $5.5 million each of the next three seasons, but the trade will activate contract language that gives Kotsay a player option after each of the next two seasons. The A's certainly don't want to see Kotsay leave after a season or two when they expect him for three.

Oakland GM Billy Beane played coy Tuesday, telling Bay Area reporters, "At this point, let's just say it's speculation."

But Beane, a Mt. Carmel High graduate, won't put off acknowledging the deal long ---- he is due to fly to London tonight for an extended vacation.

In Hernandez, the Padres will receive an All-Star catcher who has been the everyday starter on four straight playoff teams. He has caught at least 135 games in each of those seasons, something the Padres value greatly.

The Padres have suffered five straight losing seasons ---- last place three times ---- and have had only one player catch at least 100 games only once in that time. Ben Davis caught 135 games (122 starts) in 2001.

"It helps build continuity," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said of having a durable catcher like Hernandez. "It helps build relationships both between the pitching staff and the catcher, and with the coaching staff. The manager and pitching coach are working consistently with him on an everyday basis.

"I think that's vital to a winning ballclub. Look at Pudge (Ivan Rodriguez) and what he did for the Marlins this year. Look at the Yankees. They've been winning all these years with Jorge Posada."

Hernandez brings more than a ready body. He brings the kind of production the Padres haven't had behind the plate in a dozen years. He batted .273 last season with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs, career-best numbers that suggest his bat is on the upswing.

He is rated as a solid defender whose one weakness is blocking runners off the plate. He gets high marks for working with pitchers, as he has aided the development of such Oakland pitchers as Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder. He displayed his baseball savvy in October when he stunned the Boston Red Sox with a bases-loaded, two-out bunt to bring home the winning run in the 12th inning of Oakland's playoff opener.

"I think we all know our top need for this club is a good, solid all-around catcher," Bochy said, "a defensive and offensive guy who can handle the staff and add another bat in the lineup. That's what Kevin has been in search of, and it's going to take a quality player to get that."

That quality player is Kotsay, a baseball rat who patrols center field with the best of them and makes runners respect his strong arm. A line-drive, gap hitter, he filled many spots in the lineup for the Padres but likely will become Oakland's leadoff hitter.

When the Padres signed him to the extension that kicks in next year, they touted his character and leadership abilities, saying he was the type of core player they needed. But their desire to retain their starting pitchers, combined with the no-trade clauses given to sluggers Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko, limited Towers' trade options.

Free-agent catchers Benito Santiago and Brad Ausmus could have been had without parting with a player, but Towers prefers a long-term answer behind the plate.

Long is in the deal to balance the financial books. He is signed for two years, at $3,575,00 and $4,875,000. Hernandez will make $2.9 million in 2004 and $4.1 million in '05. That means the Padres, anticipating increased revenue in Petco Park, will add $975,000 for next year and $3,475,000 in 2005.

Those numbers assume Long remains a Padre. Baseball sources indicated the Padres will turn around and shop him, hoping to shed his salary. He has averaged 15 homers and 73 RBIs in his four full seasons, but his .317 career on-base percentage is poor and contrary to the Athletics' emphasis on plate discipline.

Oakland's collapse from a 2-0 lead in the division series ended when Long took a called strike three from Boston's Derek Lowe to complete Game 5. The next day, Long ripped manager Ken Macha for playing favorites with the lineup and said he wanted to be traded.

If Long plays with the Padres in 2004, he and Brian Giles might alternate in center. Giles, a Padres insider said, would play the middle only when he is flanked by Ryan Klesko and Xavier Nady on the corners.