| Christopher Reina. 20th November, 2007 - 7:32 pm
 When the Yorvit Torreabla talks broke down, Omar Minaya looked upon the trade market to fill his need for a catcher and found his man in Milwaukee’s Johnny Estrada. The cost of the acquisition was merely Guillermo Mota.
In 2007, Estrada will be suiting up for his fourth team in four seasons, moving from Atlanta to Arizona to Milwaukee to Shea. He has been moved to clear room for Brian McCann, Chris Snyder and now Jason Kendall, who will likely be signed within the next few days by Milwaukee.
Whenever a player is moved with this much frequency, one has to wonder why.
Estrada is four years younger than Paul Lo Duca, the catcher he will replace, has better pop, but is still a below average offensive player. His .715 OPS over the past three seasons ranks him 22nd amongst catchers, just below Lo Duca’s .731. Torrealba, the Mets’ intended target, is even worse with a .692 OPS during the time span.
By only dealing Mota, the Mets also manage to keep their stockpile of prospects for a larger trade, they unload a contract they didn’t want and also bring in an arbitration-eligible player instead of tying themselves to Torrealba longterm. The difference in wins between Estrada and Lo Duca will be negligible.
Grade for the Mets: B-
Mota, who will make $3.2 million in 2008, had a 1.00 ERA and a 0.833 WHIP in 18 appearances for the Mets in 2006, but was suspended for the 50-games due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. When he returned, Mota posted a 5.76 ERA in 59.3 innings. He drew the ire of Mets fans, but he fared decently in September with a 4.05 ERA.
He throws hard and conceivably could close if Francisco Cordero bolts via free agency, but the prospect is undesirable.
Signing Kendall to replace Estrada doesn’t seem wise to me. He had a .610 OPS and is a defensive liability, but he will be cheaper and they could catch lightning in a bottle with Mota.
Grade for the Brewers: C+ |
