Welcome Kotchman & good luck Teixeira

AJC
The Braves traded Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels for first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor-league reliever Stephen Marek.

Kotchman, 25, has hit .287 with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 100 games for the Angels this season, after hitting .296 with 11 homers and 68 RBIs in his first full season in 2007. He's a strong defensive first baseman.

MLBTRADERUMORS
4:50pm: Jayson Stark has the scoop - Mark Teixeira is headed to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and another player. MLB.com's Lyle Spencer says the second player is relief prospect Stephen Marek.

Solid return for the Braves, certainly beats a couple of draft picks of unknown position. Kotchman is under team control through 2011.

Baseball America
The Angels converted Marek, 24, to the bullpen this season at Double-A Arkansas because he doesn't repeat his release point or maintain his focus while starting. He's gone 2-6, 3.66 with 57 strikeouts, 21 walks and two home runs in 47 innings, suggesting the change has done him well. Signed for $800,000 in 2005 as a draft-and-follow from San Jacinto (Texas) JC, Marek's 88-94 mph fastball and plus, mid-70s curveball have played up in relief, where his under-developed is less of a hindrance.


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對天使來說，二個月加play-off的Tex為打入總冠軍賽多加了一道保險(a wild guess of 2008 world series: Cubs vs Angels)，而且Angels有錢可以留住Teixeira。

對勇士來說，Kotchman plus any middle prospect 都比未知的兩個draft picks好。千萬別拿去年換Tex的包裹來比較，去年Braves還有一拼進入季後賽的機會，更重要的是Tex還有一年的保用期。現在拿二個月使用期的Tex換來至少可以用到2011年的Kotchman，對手頭不寬的勇士隊來說，擠出來的預算或許可以在未來補強殘破的先發投手群和外野手。

而這場交易的贏家，毫無疑問的：Mr. Scott Boras