The trade market

By David
Kaye

The hot stove season got off to a bang in the trade market with the Brewers and the Diamondbacks swapping players. Milwaukee sent pitchers Doug Davis, Dana Eveland and Outfielder David Krynzel to the desert in exchange for pitchers Claudio Vargas, Greg Aquino and catcher Johnny Estrada. Once again Arizona has shipped out quality players for what can be called at best mediocre ones.

Even though lefty Doug Davis is a good person to have on your team and Outfielder David Krynzel who is only 25 could pan out to be a promising prospect, they don't compare to what the Brew crew received in return. Vargas might not have the most impressive numbers, but he is young and showed potential last season as he posted a 12 and 10 record. Reliever Greg Aquino is a solid reliever and he posted a 2 and zero record to go along with a 4.47 ERA last year with Arizona.

The hidden gem from this deal and a player who is transforming into an elite major league catcher is Johnny Estrada. This will be the third team he will be playing for in two years, but I feel he has found a long term home in Milkwaukee. Besides posting good numbers last season, he knew that Arizona would only be a temporary stop because of how loaded their farm system is.

Last season in 115 games Estrada batted .302 with 71 runs batted in. In 2004 with Atlanta he batted .314 with 76 RBI's and since breaking into the majors in 2001 with the Phillies he has gotten progressively better every year. Estrada is lethal behind the plate as he has a career .994 fielding percentage and will be counted on with the Brewers to assist their young pitchers.

Doug Melvin and the Milwaukee Brewers have once again pulled off an excellent trade in acquiring great talent. Don't look now, but the Brewers might shock everybody this season and sneak into the playoffs.