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As noted yesterday, the Mets traded Guillermo Mota to the Brewers in exchange for C Johnny Estrada.
According to multiple reports, the Brewers will pay Mota’s $3.2–million salary for next season.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Estrada hit .278 with 10 homers and 54 RBI in 120 games for for the Brewers last season.
In the Daily News, Adam Rubin speculates that if the Mets ultimately trade for another catcher, ‘they could always decline to offer Estrada a contract in December, which would make him a free agent without any money owed.’
…so, at minimum, this deal costs the Mets nothing if they cut estrada, because the Brewers are paying for mota, or it costs the Mets roughly $1 million, since estrada will likely earn around $5 million in arbitration, should the Mets keep him…either way, it gets rid of mota, and gives the Mets a temporary, two-headed solution at catcher should a more substantial acquisition for a catcher never come down the pike, such as O’s C Ramon Hernandez, who i am sure omar still has his eye on…
…one thing is clear, though, omar has no interest in trading any young player if he’s not bringing back that front-line starter, which has me getting very, very excited for the winter meetings…
For more out of the Mets blogosphere, check out Brooklyn Met Fan, Mets Fever, TMaBtS, and It’s Mets for Me.
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Haha this is weird…I pulled an Estrada autograph from a pack of baseball cards years ago when he was with the Phillies, and now he’s with the Mets…it always seems to happen that I get autographed cards from future Mets players. Anyway, good for the Mets, they not only got the job done quickly, but it’s a win-win…Estrada doesn’t even have to do that good for us and we will still get value out of him.
Can you get Mark Texieira’s autograph?
While we are at it, get one of Johan Santana’s too. lol
It’s smart thinking. All the leverage is back to the Mets. Getting Ramon Hernandez in a package would be nice, but not a necessity.
Omar made a great move by trimming some of the fat of the Mets overpaid bullpen and in return he brought in a younger and cheaper version of Lo Duca. Estrada is a career .280 hitter similar to Paulie and he will drive in about 50-75 runs. Why trade anyone for R. Hernandez? This platoon with Castro and Estrada will work out well!
what if hernandez came with erik bedard?
That is why this trade is so good for the mets, they do not need to keep Estrada for it to still be good for them.
Now Omar holds all the cards when talking to Baltimore, and may be able to get Bedard with Hernandez as a “we don’t really need a catcher, but will take him and his salary, but now you get Gomez instead of Milledge.”
The trade for Estrada was definitely a good move, but the guy does come with some baggage. I’m sure everyone remember’s him almost fighting his manager when the Mets were playing the Brewers earlier in the season. He’s also going to be playing for his 5th team, so there’s got to be a problem somewhere with this guy if nobody wants to hold on to him. Also he’s supposedly a horrible defensive catcher, with the lowest percentage in the NL for throwing out runners.
Again it was a good move, we got Mota out of here and picked up another option for catcher, but I’m not completely sold.
Also goes to show, Omar doesn’t want to sign aging catchers to long term deals. Sure, it could work in the AL because of the DH but the Mets have to be careful signing catchers, especially when they get into their mid 30’s.
I agree, which confuses me further on the whole Posada situation
i would be MORE excited if omar was going to get a BIG bat as well. think about it….alou and beltran WILL spend time on the DL. delgado and drite WILL be slumpilicious. who is going to carry the batting load? think about it.
I could careless if Johnny Estrada was used as an usher at Shea Stadium!!!! We got rid of Mota!!!!
Basically, Mota spent the one year he should’ve with the Mets, not the two year deal he got. Very good deal for the Mets
When does this team start getting better?
When we get Johan.
Chaseh,
This is definitely addition by subraction. Regardless of what happens with Estrada here, Omar comes out smelling like roses. The fans basically crucified Mota and Omar to a lesser degree for signing him. In this case, Omar gets Mota out of here (the focus of most Omar-bashers) and gets a catcher who if he doesn’t really want, he doesn’t need to keep. It’s basically a salary dump and a p.r. move. It’s a good trade, not a great one.
As far as getting better…stay tuned. I think he’s got something up his sleeve. Did anyone even mention the possibility of getting Mota out of here? There is a name out there we haven’t heard yet that will be a Met in 2008.
I like it better than Torrealba. We don’t have to watch Mota taking away wins from our starters ever again, and got a catcher who isn’t an automatic out like Torrealba would have been. Estrada’s numbers are virtually the same as Lo duca’s, he’s four years younger, and we still have all our chips… If Johnny can throw some people out minus the bone spurs, I give Omar a thumbs up.
Mota never should have been re-signed. I was adamant about this a year ago.
I TOLD YOU SO.
Thankfully, he’s been purged from my baseball team.
thank you skillsets for telling us so….we all should be so lucky to have the knowledge and vision of the future that you do for the mets…
if you couldn’t tell this is sarcasm
Still waiting for your retraction about sending Wright to AAA. I guess we could all say “told you so!” to you after that bonehead analysis.
Still love ya though old-timer.
Only thing I DON’T like about this deal is that Estrada has one of the worst catching arms I’ve ever seen in the history of MLB. His arm makes Piazza look like friggin’ Johnny Bench.
And keen observation Constnza81V2.0. Estrada is good enough that if a deal for Hernandez is not good enough Omar can simply walk away knowing he has a pretty decent catcher in Estrada (and castro for that matter). Estrada calls a pretty decent game too. Now it’s time to concentrate on the mound.
P.S. Now that Mota is gone…move Pelfrey in to the pen?
Not ready to give up on Pelfrey just yet. I think the Pen is logical destination for him if he fails as a starter this year. But he needs a chance to really get it. For him it is not about anything other than the space between his ears. He does not trust his plus fastball. Hence he nibbles. He should shove it right down the batters throats. Throw em in a good spot but them for strikes. his slider is still developing but was pretty good by the end of the year.
I expect him to do well if he is stil around after the trade for our next new starter
Devil’s Advocate here
Pelfrey DID get a chance to earn it, last year, and he DID, with his strong ST performance…and he followed that up by going 0-7
In 2005 and 2006, Estrada had pretty good numbers throwing out runners. Perhaps the bone spur surgery will return him to that level.
with no real opinion of the Orioles or other teams catching situations, Estrada at the least gives the Mets a catcher they can send the other way in a trade for Hernandez or another team as it is rather difficult for almost any team to trade away thier starting catcher without getting one in return. And as he is a guy who would be adequate as the everyday catcher they wont feel ’stuck’ with him if they cant work out a deal. Not to mention Mota leaving…
who here could see mota turning into a lights out 8th inning guy for the brews as they win the central….
NONE OF US DUDE. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY WATCHED MOTA? He may benefit some by getting more outs on balls hit in play than he did last year but on balance….he put alot of balls in play last year. Too many for a reliever with a plus fastball like his.
Its possible, but it was never going to happen here, so whatever, you know?
Unless Milwaukee can brew up some juice, Mota won’t be pitching lights out again in his career.
I am shocked that so many people have us trading Estrada already. I just checked out his career stats,
Except for 1 year where it looks like he was probably hurt, he has hit above or near .300 near 10 HR 50-70 RBI, I am not sure what the problem is.
It seemed like Lo Duca made some very poor throws very often, that caught stealing % is such an arbitrary number,
who was pitching, what was the pitch, who was running, was it reyes or Delgado, who is applying the tag. none of these things are taken into account.
I have no problem with Johnny Estrada as the primary catcher next year.
Amen to that.
Estrada just had two surgeries. Anyway, the papers always get it wrong. At least as often as they get it right. So best to ignore this info for now.
I dont see them making a move for a catcher before they have secured a front end starting pitcher and another reliever. I think this locks them into an arbitration situation with Estrada unless they decide to extend him.
In any event, its a great move for the Mets. They are now rid of the two biggest ‘bad karma’ guys from last year: Glavine and Mota. Its onward and upward from here.
all three, you forgot Lo Duca
I have no issue going forward with him for 2008, but it does create a new need to find a catcher for 2009.
If they can turn around and trade him now, while he has some trade value, and get a longer term solution to the catching position it would be a plus. If they wait until the end of 2008 Estrada can walk and its back to where they were a few days ago.
What is aldactone used for….
Aldactone….