Last year, the Oakland A's traded Grant Green to the Los Angeles As for Alberto Collaspo. Both had similar statistics (as of 2013), and both can play second base. (Collaspo has since been moved to first, where he is a "light hitter" for his position with a batting average below .250.)
Oakland's general manager, Billy Beane has been known for (generally) getting the better of such trades. In Collaspo's case, he has a "feature" that the As prize; he strikes out at a lower rate (something like once per eleven innings) than anyone else in the majors.
In "Moneyball," Michael Lewis pointed out that the strikeout was the "worst" possible way to get an out (with the possible exception of the double play). So not striking out appears to be worth something.
What exactly are the advantages of having low strikeouts, compared to other ways of making an out? To what extent would Callaspo's lower strikout/higher contact rate than others make up for his low batting average?