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Mets Acquire Estrada, Dump Mota
By Jeff Zachowski on November 20th, 2007 10:22 PM |
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This is almost too good to be true.
Not only has Mets’ GM Omar Minaya rid the roster of the abominable Guillermo Mota, he managed to get value in return, plugging the team’s hole at catcher by acquiring Johnny Estrada from the Brewers.
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to not like about the former-Brave. There’s the whopping 12 walks he drew in 2007 to go along with an anemic .296 on-base percentage. There’s the arthroscopic knee surgery the catcher underwent to repair a torn meniscus in addition to elbow surgery to remove a bone spur. Of course, with renewed life in that throwing elbow, perhaps going forward Estrada can aim to improve upon the 11-of-84 basestealers he threw out in 2007.
Nevertheless Johnny Estrada is a former All-Star and silver slugger, and was one of the premier players at the position before injuries slowed his productivity. He is just 31-years-old, and his career .280 batting average should ease the concerns of many fans who felt Yorvit Torrealba would struggle to hit above .200 in Shea Stadium. Just as in the case of Torrealba, the move most likely means increased playing time for fan favorite Ramon Castro as well.
Estrada is in his final season of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency following the 2008 season. He will likely command a salary of just over $3 million, and at the very least, represents a significantly less substantial commitment by the organization than Torrealba would have at 3 years and $14.4 million.
Moreover, the Mets surrendered nothing to acquire Estrada in a thin catcher’s market wherein Texas and Baltimore were said to be seeking a return of Lastings Milledge or Carlos Gomez in exchange for Gerald Laird or Ramon Hernandez respectively.
I said it before and I’ll say it again. The Mets have much bigger fish to fry than worrying about who is going to split time with Ramon Castro next season. I would be very surprised if the fate of 2008 was decided by who’s squatting behind home plate at Shea next year. Rather, the Mets season will be shaped by what Omar does from here, and whether he can parlay prospects such as Milledge, Gomez, and Mike Pelfrey into a Johan Santana, or even a Joe Blanton. In moving swiftly to fill the squad’s holes at second base and catcher, Omar can now get down to the real business of this offseason – finding that special player than can help erase the taste of The ‘07 Collapse.
There are currently 2 responses to “Mets Acquire Estrada, Dump Mota”
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Granted Estrada’s bat is better than Torrealba and Moto can’t pitch without ‘roids, but I don’t like how you’re so quick to dismiss the catcher position as non-critical.
Without Lo Duca, the Mets regressed and us fans wanted him. Now, you’re trying to do a smoke and mirrors act to focus everyone’s attention on pitching, like you would ever disagree with Omar’s moves anyway. You’re totally in his pocket and on the payroll.
Dodger Dean
ha, dodger dean. you haven’t followed my writing much, because I’ve actually been fairly critical of omar in the wake of ‘07. we differ simply in that, despite being italian, it’s unimportant to me whether or not our catcher is a gindaloon.
sure i liked Lo Duca, but he wasn’t the second coming. i will miss singing volare during his at-bats at shea, but that’s about it. you’re the only one crying over his departure. in fact, during july and august, the message boards on sites like metsblog were filled with fans pleading with Willie to bench Lo Duca in favor of Castro. this notion that the fans were in love with Lo Duca and wanted him back is pure fantasy. you’re the only one that feels that strongly about it.
in the instance of torrealba, i never said i liked the guy and i acknowledged that he can’t hit a lick. I simply said that I didn’t think the move significantly impacted the club enough for me to get upset about it. In this instance, the Mets got something for nothing, and now I don’t have to live in fear that we’re about to surrender a top prospect for a guy like Gerald Laird. Across baseball the reaction to the deal has been that the Brewers got hosed, so what’s not to like?
as for the smoke and mirrors act…are you implying that the focus shouldn’t be on pitching? if you’re more concerned with whether Lo Duca is returning than whether or not the Mets will be able to acquire a big-time ace in the offseason, then you haven’t been paying attention.