Tampa Bay has made a ton of small moves this offseason, many of them directed at revamping the bullpen. The team obviously has made some larger moves (like the Matt Garza deal) as well.
Today, they made another small signing, announcing that well-traveled first baseman Casey Kotchman is joining the organization on a minor league deal that could pay him $750,000 if he makes the major league team.
Once considered a top prospect in the Angels system (I even saw him ranked as the #1 prospect in baseball a couple of times), Kotchman’s MLB career has largely been a disappointment. He’s a career .259/.326/.392 hitter in the majors, and while he’s an above-average defender at first base, he has nowhere near enough bat to be a viable starter.
Everything went south for Kotchman in 2010. He hit a paltry .217/.280/.336–that would be bad for a catcher, let alone a first baseman, and according to UZR, his defense slipped into the average range (typical one-year UZR caveats apply).
At this point, it’s difficult to see Kotchman as a viable big leaguer. Except for not striking out, he has no plus offensive skills, and that simply doesn’t work at first base, particularly as both his offense and defense are in decline. The Rays would be well-served to go with Dan Johnson over Kotchman, and they probably will. Even if Johnson flames out, they’d be better off moving John Jaso or Robinson Chirinos to first than going with Kotchman, unless he’s regained his 2007 (.296/.372/.467) form, which is highly unlikely.
It’ll be interesting to see if Kotchman, who’s been a big-league staple for over half a decade, actually accepts a minor league assignment or simply vanishes come April.