Just a couple of days after catcher George Kottaras was designated by assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers, it appears as though he may be on the verge of being traded to the Oakland Athletics. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported on Saturday that the two teams were getting close to a trade. He followed up a short time later by reporting that the Brewers have signed Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal, perhaps indicating that he will be their fallback plan in case they are left shorthanded by the departure of Kottaras.

Kottaras has a career line of .221/.326/.402 in the majors, although he has been hitting .209/.409/.360 so far in 2012. The A's have been leaning on Kurt Suzuki and rookie Derek Norris this season and could potentially use some help at backstop, or this move could potentially give them the security blanket they need to include Suzuki in a trade for other needs at the deadline.

Quintero started the season as a member of the Kansas City Royals, but was released on July 2.

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