SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -The Oakland Athletics traded little-used backup catcher Adam Melhuse to Texas on Saturday for cash considerations, reuniting him with former A’s coach and first-year Rangers manager Ron Washington.
Texas had expressed interest in acquiring Melhuse about a month ago. The A’s will call up Kurt Suzuki from Triple-A Sacramento to fill the backup catcher spot, and he was set to join the team in time for Sunday’s Bay Bridge Series finale against the San Francisco Giants.
-wise. Pretty soon, I’m going to flat line. It’s like I’m dying a slow death over here.’ Hopefully this will be an opportunity to play. … It’s bittersweet.”
Melhuse batted .231 with two RBIs with only seven starts this season and also had a stint at Triple-A. Durable starting catcher Jason Kendall rarely takes games off, which made it that much more difficult for manager Bob Geren to get Melhuse into games.
“Hopefully it’s good for Adam, an opportunity with a manager who knows him,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said. “Hopefully he’ll get an opportunity to play. We’ll bring Kurt here to learn from Jason.”
The deal came together in the last few days.
The move gives the Rangers a chance to use Melhuse behind starter Gerald Laird and move Chris Stewart to the minors to gain experience. Washington will be able to rest Laird more, too.
“Obviously we wish him well – maybe not against us,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said of Melhuse. “He will hopefully get more opportunities to play. He’s done everything we wanted. He’s a great guy.”
Melhuse publicly criticized former A’s manager Ken Macha to the San Francisco Chronicle after last season for not communicating enough with him as he rode the bench for long stretches at a time. The 35-year-old Melhuse played in only 12 games during Oakland’s AL West title season in 2006, and 209 total games in five seasons with the club.
“I’m really happy for him,” A’s second baseman Mark Ellis said. “He’s a big part of this clubhouse. Not many people know that.”
Suzuki batted .280 (59-for-211) with three home runs and 27 RBIs in 55 games – 44 at catcher and 11 as designated hitter – for Sacramento this season.
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