Jason A. Churchill of ESPN Insider talks about the willingness of the Oakland Athletics to move just about any player on their roster. One of the players that was retained was catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Suzuki plays very similar to A.J. Ellis. Dodgers should pass here.

Suzuki was interviewed by Jim Bowden, also of ESPN on SiriusXM Radio that his preference (should he be given an option) would be to play in Los Angeles.

The preference could mean a mid-season trade for the Dodgers with a guarantee that he will re-sign with the club to a long-term deal perhaps with a hometown discount. Currently he is in the third year of a four-year/$16.25 million contract, which includes an option for 2014.

Last season, Suzuki, 28, hit .237 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs in 134 games played. Earlier this week in our Around the Nation topic we covered the Dodgers depth at catcher going into the future. Where would Suzuki fit in? The numbers make A.J. Ellis look all the more attractive.

• Ellis (.271) had a better batting average than Suzuki (.237).
• Suzuki (32.85 AB/HR) has slightly better power numbers than Ellis (42.5).
• Suzuki (28%) threw out a slightly better percentage of would-be basestealers than Ellis (27%).
• Both players share an equal OBP of .301.

Both players are rather even. Kurt Suzuki will give you slightly more power, and throw out a few more basestealers than Ellis will, but suffers in batting average and gets on base just as much as A.J. We discussed Suzuki’s salary earlier, which works itself out to be just over $4 million per season. Ellis meanwhile will be making a cool $421,000 next season.

The choice should be clear and well in favor of Ellis. The Dodgers will need to explore a catcher in the future as the position is clearly the weakest in the organization. However, that search will not conclude in Oakland.