Johnny Estrada May want out

by Mr. Philosophical on Aug 10, 2006 2:17 PM EDT

Estrada wouldn't mind trade to Bay
By Andrew Baggarly, STAFF WRITER

PHOENIX -- Johnny Estrada received his Oakland Raiders season tickets in the mail this week.

"I can't wait, man," said the Diamondbacks catcher, a Hayward native. "I'm a few rows above the Black Hole, but I might have to get different seats next year. It'd be nice to see the game without standing up."

Estrada's friends and family are contemplating another kind of move -- one that could bring him closer to home. He's heard more than once that the Giants probably need a catcher for next season given Mike Matheny's uncertain status with post-concussion syndrome.

"I grew up a die-hard Oakland A's fan, but I could deal with playing in San Francisco," Estrada said, smiling.

Of course, it's rare for teams to trade within their own division. The Colorado Rockies long coveted former Giants backup Yorvit Torrealba but acquired him only after he was traded to Seattle.

It's just as rare for players to admit the grass could be greener with a division opponent, but Estrada is frustrated that the Diamondbacks signed him to a one-year contract. He is eligible for salary arbitration after this season, and the switch hitter should receive a nice salary bump, as his 57 RBIs lead NL catchers.

Estrada returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing a game with stomach pains. He saw a specialist who believes he might have an ulcer. He is taking medicine, trying to quit his pot of coffee-a-day habit and looking for ways to lower his stress level.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_4160648
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This isn't such a devastating blow if he does get traded because Synder is showing great improvement during his starts as Catcher.

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Comments

Damn you, VIII!

There goes half my post for today. ;-) [Shrug] Yeah, I know I said we wanted to keep him, but I've been steadily more impressed with Chris Snyder as the other half of the platoon. He certainly seems much more ready as a major-league player than he was last year, though obviously, his at-bats have been carefully managed to get him good match-ups. [Weirdly, this year, he's been MUCH worse against lefties (.220 in 50 at-bats, compared to .348 facing right-handers), when his overall career splits go the other way: .245 vs. L, .222 vs. R]

And below that, in Tucson, we have Miguel Montero (batting .368, albeit only in 19 games) and - pause for andrewinnewyork to cheer! - Robby Hammock (.306). Sure, I'd probably rather give Montero longer in AAA to ensure he's really ready, but signs so far appear to indicate that either he or Hammock should be capable of a backup role to Snyder in 2007, at the very least. Let them fight it out in spring training, perhaps, if we feel the need: loser plays every day for the Sidewinders. We offer arbitration; Estrada signs with SF; we get a top draft pick, and help ensure the farm system of a divisional rival remains as barren as the moon. Sounds like a plan to me.

by Jim McLennan on Aug 10, 2006 3:05 PM EDT reply actions

woops

Sorry Jim. Lol. Anyways, like i said, it would be a great devastating blow to our offense.

"very cunning Mr. *VIII*" -- Jim

by Mr. Philosophical on Aug 10, 2006 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Hmm, kind of ironic

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060810&content_id=1602934& amp;vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari

"very cunning Mr. *VIII*" -- Jim

by Mr. Philosophical on Aug 10, 2006 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

It's only natural

for a player to want to go back and play for the team he rooted for as a kid. Or to play for any team that would bring him close to "home" and his family.

Eric Byrnes has said many times that he would consider it way cool to play for the Giants. That doesn't mean that either he or Estrada don't play with 100% effort for the team to which they are currently under contract.

You're all taking this way too personal.

by Just Me on Aug 10, 2006 3:57 PM EDT reply actions

He said

Estrada said that he was frustrated with the Diamondbacks because they only signed him for a one year contract.

"very cunning Mr. *VIII*" -- Jim

by Mr. Philosophical on Aug 10, 2006 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Clearly...

This is a player angling for a long-term contract in lieu of the one-year deals resulting for arbritation, which serves to once again put pressure on Estrada to hit .300 again. I'm sure Johnny wants to try and lock up a three-year that pays him on the basis of a season where he leads NL catchers in RBI's.

While Johnny has played as well as we could have expected this year, I wouldn't be heart-broken if he wasn't back next season. Chris Snyder appears to have taken a step forward, and while I believe he's probably a bit over his head as a starter for a good team, a Snyder-Hammock tandem in '07 while Montero consolidates his game in Tucson is a nice, affordable solution.

As Jim astutely noted, an offer of arbitration to Estrada and a signing at above-market dollars for three years by the Giants is the ideal recipe for the D-Backs.

Much of Estrada's value is tied up in his batting average, as witnessed by his .309 BA and a .329 OBP, which is the result of having only three (!!!) unintentional walks this year. Chase rates as inflating BA by almost 9%, while AT&T Park is just a shade below neutral in that category (park factors found at http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor). Using some admittedly crude figuring, this makes Estrada a .295 hitter with limited walks and power in San Francisco; a solid catcher, to be sure, but not someone to build around. Much of his value with the D-Backs has been in hitting .362 with runners in scoring position; a valuable asset to be sure, but not necessarily repeatable.

The risk with offering Estrada arbitration is that he accepts it and leverages his RBI total into a big number ($8 million, say) for '07, which hampers our ability to sign a back-of-the-rotation guy. With Montero in the wings, offering Estrada a multi-year deal is not a great move, which means these sorts of stories will only be more frequent in '07 and we have an unhappy ballplayer, which I don't want around the Baby Backs.

by TheMainMan on Aug 11, 2006 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions

funnel the cash to the mound...

... I'd love to see Estrada to stay... but I would love even more to see one Mr. Zito or Schmidt on the bump following Webbing come next April. I don't care if we have to overpay.

by johngordonma on Aug 11, 2006 11:20 PM EDT reply actions