George Kottaras, Catcher


Date of Birth: 5/10/1983
Birthplace: Ontario, Canada
College: Connors State College

George Kottaras, catcher, was first drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2002 but he attended a year of college before signing with them. He played in the Padres' minor league system from 2003 through September, 2006, when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He continued to play in the minor leagues through most of 2009, playing in just 3 games with the Red Sox in 2008 and 45 games in 2009.

The Red Sox released Kottaras in November, 2009, and the Milwaukee Brewers then claimed him off waivers. In 2010, he played in 67 games with the Brewers and finished the season with 43 hits and a .203 batting average. The next year, the highlight of his career occurred on September 3rd, when he hit for the cycle. In 2011, he played in 49 games and had 28 hits and a .252 batting average.

Kottaras was traded to the Oakland Athletics at the end of July, 2012. That season, he batted .211 in 58 games with the Brewers and 27 games with the Athletics. The Athletics designated him for assignment on January 15, 2013, and he was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals ten days later. In 2013, Kottaras batted .180 in 46 games with the Royals.

In November, 2013, the Royals traded Kottaras to the Chicago Cubs and he signed a one-year contract with the Cubs a month later. However, he never played with the Cubs. On March 26, 2014, they released him and four days later, he signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians.

After playing in 10 games with the Indians in 2014, they designated Kottaras for assignment on July 7, 2014. Four days later, he was claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals but he only stayed with them until July 29th, when they released him. On August 6th, he signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished the 2014 season with 7 hits in just 10 games with the Indians, 4 games with the Cardinals, and 4 games with the Blue Jays.

Kottaras signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox on December 18, 2014. He was released on August 3, 2015 and returned to the Blue Jays two days later. He spent the 2015 season in the minor leagues.

Kottaras signed with the San Francisco Giants on January 19, 2016. They released him on July 14, 2016, and he signed with the Atlanta Braves the next day. He lasted just a month with the Braves, getting released on August 19th. He played only in the minors in 2016.

Kottaras hasn't played professional baseball since 2017.

Career batting statistics for Kottaras through 2016 include:

  • 313 games played
  • 155 hits
  • 101 RBIs
  • 203 strikeouts to 121 walks
  • .215 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Kottaras as a catcher through 2016 include:

  • 246 games played
  • 68 assists
  • 1,423 putouts
  • 13 errors
  • .175 caught stealing percentage
  • .991 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - George Kottaras
ESPN - George Kottaras