By Kevin Goldstein
November 26, 2003

The Athletics cleared a small amount of payroll on Wednesday, but left a gaping hole behind the plate. They traded all-star catcher Ramon Hernandez and disappointing outfielder Terrence Long to the Padres for center fielder Mark Kotsay. The transaction first leaked out on Nov. 18 but took a while longer to complete as the A's wanted to make sure Kotsay was completely healthy. It was Oakland's second recent cost-cutting move, coming on the heels of a deal that sent Ted Lilly to Toronto.

Hernandez, who is guaranteed a total of $7.115 million over the next two seasons, had a career year in 2003, batting .273-21-78 in 140 games and making his first All-Star Game appearance. He also threw out 33 percent of basestealers. The 27-year-old Hernandez is an above-average defender with plus power, but his aggressive style at the plate doesn't fit well with the A's offensive philosophy. A career .253/.322/.400 hitter with 60 homers and 263 RBIs in 595 games, Hernandez is a huge upgrade at catcher for a Padres team that should be much improved. San Diego used Garry Bennett, Miguel Ojeda, Wiki Gonzalez, Mike Rivera and Humberto Quintero behind the plate in 2003. Oakland's catching job is now wide open. Adam Melhuse served as a backup in 2003 and has an eye for drawing walks, but he's also a career minor leaguer who does not hit enough to profile as an everyday backstop.

Kotsay, 27, is coming off his worst season as a pro after hitting .266-7-38 in 128 games. He spent most of the year on the disabled list or playing hurt with nagging back troubles. He doesn't have an outstanding tool, but he's solid across the board and possesses excellent instincts. Signed through 2006 at $6.5 million per season—he got an annual $1 million raise for being traded—he's an offensive upgrade over Chris Singleton and a defensive upgrade over Eric Byrnes, who shared center field for Oakland in 2003. Kotsay is a career .281/.338/.418 hitter with 65 homers and 336 RBIs in 868 games.

Long, also 27, has struggled for the last two years and will make a combined $8.75 million over the next two. He batted .245-14-61 in 140 games and lost playing time to Byrnes in the second half of the season, then clashed with manager Ken Macha and requested a trade after Boston eliminated Oakland from the playoffs. He's a good athlete but doesn't have good outfield instincts, so he most likely will play left field with Brian Giles shifting to center in San Diego. In 605 big league games, Long has hit .265/.317/.410 with 60 homers and 293 RBIs.