November 21, 2007
Mets Get a Catcher
Tuesday the Mets shipped Guillermo Mota to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Johnny Estrada. It's a deal for disappointing players. The Milwaukee press said little good about the catcher:
When the Brewers acquired Estrada in a trade with Arizona last Thanksgiving, they thought he was the answer to their catching situation. He slumped at the plate in the second half (.254, two homers, 20 RBI), in part because of an ailing hamstring.
Estrada also had a poor year behind the plate, throwing out just six of 79 runners attempting steals (7.6%). As it turned out, he had a bone spur in his throwing elbow, which was removed after the season (along with torn cartilage in his left knee).
The primary issues the Brewers had with Estrada, however, appeared to be off the field. He did not see eye-to-eye at times with pitching coach Mike Maddux as well as some pitchers on the staff. The Brewers also thought his energy level was low and his attitude not positive enough.
Estrada and teammate Tony Graffanino were involved in a dugout altercation with manager Ned Yost in early August - in a game against the Mets, no less - but that was not thought to be a factor in the trade.
Estrada did not become a regular until he was 28 years old. He'll be seasonal age 32 in 2008, and it looks like the best part of his career came and went quickly. The Brewers are looking at Jason Kendall as a replacement. He's two years older than Estrada and also coming off a poor season. I'm not sure he's going to be an improvement, but his OBA might rebound.
The New York Times reports the Mets to Estrada so they could save for another trade:
Estrada also represented an attractive choice because the Brewers' asking price was cheaper than what it would have taken to obtain Gerald Laird or Ramón Hernández, the other catchers the Mets had singled out in possible trades. That allowed the Mets to hold on to their prized prospects, which may enable them to make a run at an elite starting pitcher.
That pitcher will have the added comfort of knowing that his new catcher is well regarded for his game-calling skills and how he handles pitching staffs. Estrada, 31, who can be a free agent after the 2008 season, has already played for four teams -- Philadelphia, Atlanta, Arizona and Milwaukee. He made the All-Star team with the Braves in 2004, when he posted his best season: a .314 average, 36 doubles, 76 runs batted in with a .378 on-base percentage. Last season with Milwaukee, Estrada hit .278 with 10 home runs and 54 R.B.I.
That's an interesting contrast. Milwaukee doesn't like the way Estrada called games, the Mets do. We'll now wait to see if Estrada will be the every day starter or the backup.
Posted by David Pinto at
07:54 AM
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He was a problem in Arizona. The DBacks didn't like his game calling and his attitude. I can't see how this is going to get any better in New York.
Omar Minaya referred to him as "[adding] depth to our catching situation" rather than "our new starter" so I get the feeling the Mets want to try out Ramon Castro as a starter but have a legit everyday catcher as a backup due to Castro's injury history. Alternately, they could platoon, since Estrada is a switch hitter who does better as a lefty.
actually i just read somewhere (i think on MLB.com) that the Mets can just non-tender Estrada if they receive a better catcher in another off-season deal. That is their more likely scenario i see happening.