News: Mets Trade Milledge to Nationals
According to SNY, the Mets have traded Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for C Brian Schneider and OF Ryan Church.
…from what i understand, Mets GM Omar Minaya is currently saying that this will not impact his efforts to acquire a top-line starting pitcher…
In 144 games for the Nationals last season, the left-handed hitting Church, 29, hit .272 with 15 HR and 70 RBI through 47 at-bats.
Church will be eligible for arbitration following next season, and able to be a free agent after 2010.
…well, out of the gate, i don’t get it…i mean, if omar turns around and uses church to get Dan Haren or Johan Santana, i’ll understand…otherwise, i don’t get it all…
…on the other hand, maybe we have overestimated milledge’s value when it comes to acquiring a guy like haren or santana…also, keep in mind, over the last year, we have repeatedly been writing how much the Nationals like milledge…so, if all of that is true, and the Mets are against trading away Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, and milledge has little value, i can understand swapping out milledge for church, who hopefully can help bring in that desired pitcher…or, this allows them to more freely trade gomez, while keeping church…
…however, if this was just a way to get a catcher, then i’m, very, very confused, to say the least…
Schneider, 31, hit .268 in 2005, .256 in 2006 and just .235 in 129 games for the Nationals last season.
…he’s an outstanding defensive catcher, one of the best in the game and he has been praised for his work with the Nationals young pitching staff…when in a groove, he can single-handedly remove the stolen base from the opposition’s arsenal…however, he has thrown out less runners the last few years compared to earlier in his career…
Schneider will earn $4.9 million each of the next two seasons, after which he can become a free agent.
