George

Kottaras

Last season Kottaras established himself as one of the league’s better backup catchers. This season he is already 3-for-7 (.429) with two home runs and five RBI.

Lucroy probably would have rested anyway with the day game after the night game, but it doesn’t sound like anything to be worried about. Consider him day-to-day right now. George Kottaras will start behind the plate Wednesday.

The Brewers scored all 10 runs in the middle three innings, and Kottaras was obviously a big part of it. Also getting in on the action was Alex Gonzalez, who was 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, and Rickie Weeks and Mat Gamel, who each scored twice and stole a base.

Terms aren’t yet available, but Kottaras projected to make a little under $1 million in his first year of arbitration. The 28-year-old batted .252/.311/.459 with five home runs, 17 RBI and a .771 OPS over 123 plate appearances this past season. He’ll serve as the primary backup to Jonathan Lucroy again in 2012.

Norris was just sent down to the minors on July 30, so he isn’t eligible to return for a few more days, but the A’s could get him up earlier if Seth Smith (hamstring) requires a stint on the disabled list. The 21-year-old backstop batted just .195/.262/.325 over 21 games in his first taste of the big leagues, but he has plenty of power potential. The recently-acquired George Kottaras will serve as his backup.

George Kottaras should also see plenty of playing time, but Norris is the team’s future at catcher, and they’ve decided to roll with him now. The 23-year-old is batting just .195/.262/.325 over 21 games with the A’s this season but has hit three homers and has above-average pop for a catcher. He should be owned in deeper mixed formats.

Kottaras was designated for assignment on Thursday when the Brewers activated Jonathan Lucroy from the disabled list. The 29-year-old backstop is batting just .209 (18-for-86) this season, but has also drawn 29 walks and has some pop from the left side of the plate. Melvin hopes to complete a trade within the next couple of days.

Kottaras was batting just .209 with 24 strikeouts in 116 plate appearances this season for Milwaukee. The 29-year-old backstop could draw some interest on waivers.

Lucroy suffered a boxer’s fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand as a result of a freak accident in his hotel room earlier this week. It was previously reported that the injury would heal on its own, but he’ll actually have a pin inserted to hold two segments of the bone together. Either way, he’s still expected to miss four to six weeks.

The four former Red Sox in Oakland’s lineup combined for nine hits, 13 RBI and 10 runs scored tonight. Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss both had four RBI to go along with Kottaras’ five. Coco Crisp, on the other hand, didn’t make much of a contribution, going 0-for-5.