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A’s Send Kevin Kouzmanoff to Colorado

August 23, 2011
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The Athletics traded Kevin Kouzmanoff and cash considerations to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Not sure how that works with cash considerations possibly going both ways but, yes what a great deal, even if the A’s are paying the majority of Kouzmanoff’s remaining salary (which I envision they are).

Kouzmanoff was a huge disappointment in his time in Oakland. After an inaugural campaign in the Green and Gold in 2010 in which he hit .247/.283/.396 (pacing the A’s in home runs with 16), and played stellar defense at third resulting in a 3.0 WAR campaign – he struggled mightily in 2011. His solid defense went away as he racked up nine errors in just 46 games and went from a 16.1 UZR to a 1.8 UZR, that coupled with a hitting like at an anemic .221/.262/.353 with only four home runs prompted the A’s to outright him to Sacramento. In Sacramento he has found some new life with the bat hitting .295/.332/.539 with 13 home runs in 60 games but his removal from the 40-man roster made it quite clear to all he was not in the A’s plans for the future.

Colorado in desperate need of help at third base has far more utility for Kouzmanoff than do the A’s, happy to rid of him. Despite his struggles, Kouzmanoff seems like a good guy and I wish him the best of luck in Colorado which has proven to be a good place for a rebirth for countless former Athletics.

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2 Comments leave one →
  1. Ben permalink
    August 23, 2011 9:44 pm

    Strange move considering that Kouzmanoff provided a good foil for Sizemore and now Sogard as far as their development…agree that A’s are probably paying much of his salary…I think this means however that A’s are feeling pretty secure at third without him which is a positive sign

    Reply
    • dwishinsky permalink*
      August 24, 2011 1:09 pm

      Ben –

      Thanks for reading! I don’t know, I think it might’ve been sort of a two-part thing for the A’s. First off, the A’s clearly had no intention of bringing him back to Oakland – he was off the 40, etc. It may have been a bit of a goodwill gesture on the part of the A’s, and also it gives them an opportunity to get more guys playing time perhaps. With Kouzmanoff basically a lame-duck, why keep him around right?

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