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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
MLB: Mets acquire catcher Johnny Estrada
It’s about time Guillermo Mota helped the team...oh, wait.
The New York Mets announced today that they have acquired catcher Johnny Estrada from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for righthanded pitcher Guillermo Mota.
“Johnny adds depth to our catching situation,” said Mets General Manager Omar Minaya. “He’s a former All-Star who switch-hits and has hit over .300 three times in his career.”
Repoz
Posted: November 20, 2007 at 06:37 PM | 187 comment(s)
Related News: General, Milwaukee, NY Mets
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Estrada didn't have a great season, but if your catchign replacement is Kendall, you would probably want to hang onto him or, atleast trade him for a little value in return.
Same here. I welcome Warm Body to the Mets, and I'm glad Omar could acquire him for perhaps the worst Met ever to wear the uniform (probably not, but it feels like it).
Happy happy days are here again.
Quiz: Who was the batter at the plate?
This marks the sixth time Mota has been traded in six years. Not waived and signed somewhere else, not moved as a free agent, but traded. Call me crazy, but I think that's a lot.
It comes from the fact that that ############# piece of #### Mota is gone. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Kendall and Barrett are better than Estrada, but then Mota would've still been on the team.
He threw out 11 of 84 guys last year.
the skies above are clear again.
Let's sing a song of cheer again,
happy days are here again.
We could have received a bottle of Milwaukee's Finest in return. The beer inside could have been warm, flat and deeply unsatisfying. Hell, the bottle could have been empty. It could even have been broken, with jagged and dangerous edges.
Happy days would still have been here again.
Instead, we received a serviceable catcher to share the duties with Castro. Not a good catcher, but you know what Estrada isn't?
He isn't Mr. Slimeball™!
He isn't Guillermo Mota!!!!!!
It really is two days before Thanksgiving, isn't it?
I heart Omar.
That said, I have to agree that the Mets "won" this deal. Melvin could have just non-tendered Estrada, but then he would have had to admit that the Doug Davis trade was a bad one. Instead, he gets to talk about Mota's velocity this spring and this being a chance for Mota to "turn himself around".
Nope. Because you know what his nickname is going to be?
Not Mota™.
He's got a free pass, no matter what.
Did Melvin figure the best way to get Bill Hall's bat back on track was to have Mota around to throw him his changeups in BP?
Harveys? NTNGod?
Man, . . . this really is a dry market for catchers. One guy the Cubs were mocked for taking, the other the Cubs were thrilled to be rid of.
How's his D?
He threw out 11 of 84 guys last year.
In 2006 it was 27 of 93.
In 2005 it was 26 of 84.
In 2004 it was 16 of 86.
That's his starting career - guys steal at a 77% clip on him over it.
Fourth team in four years.
I would really like to know the real story behind that one. Did he and his agent try to shope the Mets' offer? Did somebody leak something in his background to the Mets they didn't like? Did a physical actually get done and the Mets didn't like something in the results? Did the Mets just change their minds about the wisdom of the contract itself?
It is really amazing how little has leaked about that situation . . . .
Estrada's toast.
Quiz answer: Paul Lo Duca
That too!!!
It's a win-win situation: no Mota and no LoDuca. Goodness, everytime a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!
Attaboy, Omar!
Estrada, however, you're stuck with for the whole year. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and the fact that Arizona and Atlanta couldn't wait to be rid of the guy speaks just as many volumes as trading a starting position player for Guillermo Mota.
According to the washer women, Estrada is a slow-acting poison for a pitching staff and a clubhouse. I wish we had just non-tendered him, but losing Johnny's lazy tuchus makes this a semi-win for me.
There's been a gap between his stuff and results for a long time though. I wish him luck.
Estrada for Mota is a solid move for the Mets.
Estrada hits righties pretty well for a catcher. He's cheap. You get a one year deal on him.
Oh, and Mota is GONE. That's really the best part. Addition by subtraction.
And that's right, no LoDuca either!
That's a really young team.
He makes Mike Piazza look like Johnny Bench throwing people out.
(The Reds in a late season game this year at Miller stole like five bases off Estrada/Sheets the first three-four innings - they were running EVERYONE. If any of the Mets pitchers are slow to home, or have poor moves...)
Still, MOTA?????
As a backup? Hard to see how he could keep that status after this year and being a part-timer next year. Of course, Elias' supersecret formula may think otherwise.
Piazza's thrown out 23% of baserunners for his career with 1.2 SBA/9 innings.
Estrada's thrown out 24% of baserunners for his career with 0.8 SBA/9 innings.
So, runners have almost as much success against Estrada but run with 50% less frequency. I think you have to give Estrada the edge in controlling the running game.
Still, I think Estrada is a good fit for the Mets and getting some team to take *any* of Mota's contract is a plus.
And league average these days is up to 75%.
Mota is going to have an awesome season and at some point next season a Mets fan will think that they could really use Mota right about now. Yup.
Yes, he's less toxic than Mota. But we're going to be PLAYING him, DAILY. At least you could have buried Mota in the back of the bullpen. And, since I'm guessing Willie likes his job, I'm guessing that's exactly where Mota would have been. Estrada is going to be hurting the team more than Mota would have.
Awful.
(Don't ask me what better options there were, 'cause you already know.)
(If Castro gets most of the playing time, different story.)
(Bet he doesn't.)
That would make Estrada the highest paid backup in the league, I'd think, unless the Mets just wanted to dump Mota and are planning on non-tendering Estrada if they can find an alternative.
I may have been off on the CS% percentages, but "controlling the running game" is not a phrase you will be using a month or so into the season if they keep Estrada around. I don't know how slow the Mets pitchers are in their deliveries, but if any of them are... have fun.
In the warm glow of the hot stove, it's understandable... but just you wait...
(Not that Kendall can throw, either... but if he's cheap enough, there's a sliver of hope he could at least provide a little OBP - it depends on the $$$)
Estrada? Meh. Still... SOOOOO Happy!!!
Hey, I'm just saying that he's better than Piazza was. Also, I believe that the league SB% has been higher or late which increases Estrada's edge on Piazza (relative to his peers).
That's ONE year of data, DA -- a year in which Estrada was playing hurt (according to the article, post-season surgeries to both deal with a knee problem and remove bone spurs from his elbow). In 2006, Estrada had a .328 OBP.
Is he going to be great, or even particularly good? I doubt it. But in a platoon role, in which he can be spotted and not counted on for anything special, he can probably be adequate, and he certainly won't consistently be wounding us in the high-leverage situations in which Mota killed the Mets in 2007. Now, you can say Randolph would have learned his lesson and not done that with Mota in 2008 anyway.
To which my answer is: oh? Would you really have been confident of that after what you saw last year? Now, I'm sure: Willie Randolph will NOT be breaking our hearts by inserting Mota at the wrong time, night after night, any more. Hallelujah.
That would make Estrada the highest paid backup in the league, I'd think
I think their 2008 salaries could be fairly similar.
Oh, I'm well aware of Kendall's issues, and am not doing cartwheels about his acquisition. If the deal is cheap enough, I can live with it, though.
The main mover of this deal was that Estrada's a world-class dick, it seems (too many teams saying the same thing).... I'm surprised Levski hasn't chimed in yet with a "I TOLD YOU SO" post.
Estrada's probably going to get at least $4-$5 mil in his final year of arb, since he's been a starter for several years, and it's a weak position overall (so he'll compare well).
I thought Castro was about $2m?
EDIT: Davidoff in his Newsday article thinks Estrada will clear $5-$6m in arb. Of course, Davidoff also says: Throughout all of his stops -- from Philadelphia to Atlanta, to Arizona, to Milwukaee -- he has earned praise for his handling of pitchers.
When the opposite is true. (Davidoff also couldn't spell Milwaukee correctly, either :P)
Let's see . . . A catcher who can't throw, whose offense is declining, and who creates controversy in the clubhouse with a bad attitude? Somehow that sounds familiar . . . I can't quite place it, though . . . hold on, it's on the tip of my tongue . . . .
Oh, yes! I know! Sounds pretty much like Estrada is a LoDuca clone if you ask me, except that he's younger, and doesn't have the ludicrous rep as a clubhouse "leader" that comes when the media finds a loudmouth, redass white guy with "heart" and "guts". The only difference? Resigning LoDuca would have been a multi-year commitment for a lot more money and it wouldn't have been gotten rid of Mota.
Just wait till he makes Estrada his seventh inning guy out of the pen.
Almost all relievers not headed to the HOF, have one crappy year, followed by a good year. The Brewers slightly improved their team with this deal. The Mets may have as well.
Kendall is not an upgrade, but his offense will be at least as good as Estrada's 2006 season and he is not a dick.
I don't recall LoDuca being moved around like a hot potato specifically because teams were dying to get him out of their clubhouses, though.
I see you haven't received the Not Mota™ memo yet.
The candidates for the seventh inning, I assume, are Pedro II (though he's more apt to split the 8th w/ Heilman), Joe Smith, Duaner Sanchez, Schoeneweis (when lefties are due up), Jorge Sosa, and perhaps the kids they drafted this year, Eddie Kunz and Brant Rustich. And, of course, anybody else they might sign or acquire.
I thought Villareal/Cormier was a not full value for him. Subsequent events did prove me wrong!
I'm not even considering personality here. We'll see what Estrada is like with the Mets; that's a completely different atmosphere. If he is a dick, then it's certainly not going to help that Lo Duca was one too. Is there a dick quotient? (Sam, don't answer that.) Having an unproductive, unpleasant player is a bad thing regardless of whether we had one last year or not.
Burgos in particular is the type of guy that could end up being something special. He's got a serious fastball and he's only going to be 24. Plus his name is just awesome.
First of all, catchers going into their age-32 seasons (who have caught all of 571 major league games) are more likely to have bounce back in them than catchers going into their age 36 seasons who have caught over 900 games. This is especially true when you can point to specific injuries the the younger guy was playing with and which have been dealt with in the off-season, and which might well have been impacting his performance. Granted, LoDuca was playing with a lot of nagging injuries in 2007, but those are of the type that every catcher has to play with and which he is certain to face in 2008, as well.
No, I am not saying we should have gotten Lo Duca back. I'm saying this guy's worse than Lo Duca, who killed the team last year, and thus isn't a solution to anything.
The biggest difference is that you weren't going to be able to bring back LoDuca on a one-year deal, which is the only commitment you have to Estrada. If your only options right now are bad (or mediocre) ones, then it's best to be tied to the one you select for as short a time period as possible. I had no desire to be tied to Paul LoDuca for the next 2-3 years of his continuing decline. If Estrada sucks, we endure it for a year and we're done with it and upgrade next year. That's a much better position to be in.
Is there a dick quotient? (Sam, don't answer that.)
Boy, is that an unfair set up line to just put out there and then deny me the pay-off . . . . Sheesh . . . .
Estrada now has the combined powers of being Not Mota™ and Not LoDuca™ (Not LoMota™ ?) .
He could hit .167 next year, violate Mr. Met on top of the home dugout, and throw the ball into CF on every stolen base attempt (or bounce it, more likely)... and he'll STILL probably get a get free pass :P
I think Mota is slightly more likely to benefit from the change than Estrada.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play Johnny Estrada.
He is beyond toxic. He drinks nuclear waste for breakfast and pisses hate. That he is bi-lingual only means he can alienate twice as many people twice as fast.
That he was on a team with Mr. Milktoast Can't We All Just Get Along just created the perfect breeding ground for Estrada's reign of terror. Yost was helpless when confronted with a player who spews more acid than a creature from "Alien".
I have no illusions about Mota. But he is not Estrada.
And that is a good thing.
I am sorry Mets fans. There is nothing CLASSY about Johnny Estrada. Please do not fool yourselves.
Take heart that MAYBE playing in NY will cause Estrada to suppress his natural instincts to be a cancer. That and perhaps Moises Alou will bash his brains in with a bat early in spring training.
Yost should have been strong enough to handle this guy. He failed. But then Bobby Cox, BOBBY COX, ditched this guy. And when exactly have the Braves let someone go who could REALLY play?
I am not really worried about his attitude. The Mets have the veterans on the club to keep him quiet. He could suck and I am more worried about that.
Or mistake Estrada's hands for his own.
IIRC, Graffanino fired the first verbal shot back at Yost, then Estrada leapt in and almost came to blows w/ Yost.
You better pray Mota isn't lights out in ST. Though his stuff fools people, its far more likely to fool his manager than it is opposing hitters.
I understand that you despise Mota.
But you have GOT to understand that Johnny Estrada is the Terminator of Spite. He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity or remorse. And he absolutely WILL NOT STOP until your clubhouse is POISONED.
It's just a matter of time.
Good luck!
I don't think you're seeing any great Mota love here.
The only justification I can see for Melvin grabbing Mota instead of simply non-tendering Estrada (which had been rumored since the season ended, so I'm sure the other teams were certainly aware of it) is that the Romero contract has set the veteran FA reliever market at about $4m, from what I've been reading. Even the agents of the Matt Herges of the world are looking for that much now, so taking a flyer on Mota at $3m is a "better value", as odd as that seems.
Still doesn't mean I'm really happy about seeing Mota in a Brewer uniform.
I must take your word about Estrada as you seem to feel very strongly about him.
I think lefty relievers like Romero are still at a premium over righy relievers.
I had a number of folks contact me after the season to explain the retention of Yost and Estrada was THE number one topic.
While I am disappointed that neither the manager nor any of the teammates were able to address this situation more forcefully I understand that these things can be beyond difficult for all involved.
Yost is still inept in his handling of the bullpen. But with "The Great Satan", as Estrada was named by one caller, out of the picture perhaps a leap forward will be experienced.
Wagner and Estrada seem likely to become allies in the clubhouse, actually. Somewhat similar, combative personalities.
I don't think it has any connection to Cordero's situation. Mota isn't viewed as a closer candidate, just middle relief depth - they wanted to buttress the rest of the pen, even in the (unlikely) event Cordero returns.
Cordero wants oodles of cash. That isn't Melvin's style.
And really, for all the pretty 2007 stats Coco is as flawed as any other "closer". So yes, it is almost certain he signs elsewhere.
Correct. This is nothing short of a masterstroke.
My understanding is that he is always digging. Always after folks. Always joining in when a disagreement is brewing to stir things up further. Just pick, pick, pick. And he is more than willing to mix it up. So if you want to throw down Estrada is right there. And by all accounts he fights dirty.
I believe the AZ folks could provide further info from Estrada's tenure in Phoenix.
Satan Speaks! :P MIL J-S blog:
I can't believe this line hasn't gotten more attention.
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