The Brewers claimed pitcher Marco Estrada off waivers from the Nationals, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In a corresponding move, Milwaukee designated Tim Dillard for assignment.
Estrada, 26, posted a 3.63 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 136.3 Triple A innings last year. In their new Handbook, Baseball America had him ranked as the Nationals' #18 prospect. They praised his change-up, and suggested he could become a back-end starter despite being undersized. The Nats designated him for assignment recently to make room for Tyler Walker.
Dillard, 26, posted a 4.51 ERA, 3.9 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 147.6 Triple A innings last year. He'd spent the previous year as a reliever. He garnered a mention as the Brewers' #30 prospect in the '09 Handbook, when he profiled as a "resilient middle reliever." It seems clear that the Brewers upgraded going from Dillard to Estrada, and Dillard may be retained anyway if he's not claimed off waivers.
This guy mut really be awesome if the Brewers claimed him from themselves.
Tim, I think you meant he was claimed from the Nats.
Fixed…not the first time I have done that.
I’ve seen Estrada put some solid work in, both as a starter and a reliever. With the relative weakness of the Nationals’ pitching staff, I’m surprised they let him go.
He was solid but got absolutely rocked in his first game up.
Loss, 19.29 ERA, started, pitched 2.1 innings, 3 hits, 5 runs all earned, 1 HR, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts.
yea i’m surprised the nationals let him go too, the front office must no have seen anythins long term from him.
I’m not happy that the Nats lost Estrada to a waiver claim, but I am willing to live with these possibilities as Mike Rizzo tries to upgrade the 40-man roster. Once enough players of sufficient quality are on that roster, he will continue to expose players with value to the waiver wire. If anything, it might be a good sign for the Nats that they are reaching this point.
I believe Estrada was unlikely to break into the Nats rotation anytime soon. The 3rd through 5th spots need to accommodate 3 from Scott Olson, Ross Detwiler, JD Martin, Craig Stammen, Garrett Mock, Matt Chico, Collin Balester, Stephen Strasburg, Aaron Thompson, Juan Jaime(those last 3 not yet in MLB, but on 40-man roster), with minor league deals to Chuck James and Miguel Batista.
The bullpen is a bit healthier than last year, with Tyler Walker part of the reason. I don’t know if Estrada could have been made part of the bullpen, even if they considered it.
All-in-all, it simply seems that Rizzo determined that it was better to have Walker, and then risk Estrada rather than one of the other pitchers I mentioned. It isn’t that the Nats are loaded with pitching- don’t get me wrong. They just have a whole bunch of people who could fill the back of their rotation who compare favorably to Estrada.
+1/2St.
it sucks that he got claimed but thats a risk the nats were willing to take and not willing to risk a better arm. He is a good arm but like was said before there was no room for him at the moment.
Yeah, Estrada was just the victim of a numbers game, with the Nats having a few too many back of the rotation types on the 40 man. He didn’t do much in limited major league time, but his AAA numbers indicate he might have major league value. Good move for the Brewers.
Good move for the Brewers not so much for the N ationals b/c im not sure that Tyler Walker is worth a decent pitching prospect.