Diamondbacks trade C Estrada to Brewers for LHP Davis

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The Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday acquired catcher Johnny Estrada from the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefthanded starter Doug Davis in a six-player deal. The Brewers also received righthanders Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino, while the Diamondbacks got lefthander Dana Eveland and minor league center fielder David Krynzel. Estrada, 30, hit .302 with 11 homers and 71 RBI in his first season with Arizona in 2006. A 2004 National League All-Star with the Atlanta Braves, Estrada has a .280 average, 32 homers and 227 RBI in six major league seasons with the Diamondbacks, Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. "Estrada has been a very good offensive catcher during his career," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "His ability to switch-hit and his high contact-low strikeout approach is something that the Brewers' offense has been missing." Estrada will take over the starting catcher role from 37-year-old Damian Miller, who hit .251 in 101 games and exercised his player option for 2007. Estrada became available due to the emergence of 25-year-old Chris Snyder, who hit .277 with six homers and 32 RBI in 184 at-bats. Arizona also has top prospect Miguel Montero close to big-league ready. The 23-year-old hit .271 at Class AA Tennessee, .321 in 36 games at Class AAA Tucson before going 4-of-16 for Arizona during a September callup. Davis, 31, has gone 62-63 with a 4.35 ERA in parts of eight major league seasons. He went 11-11 with a 4.91 ERA in 34 starts last season in Milwaukee. In three seasons with the Brewers, Davis went 34-34 with three consecutive 200-inning seasons. "Davis is an important acquisition for us to add another perennial 200-plus inning starter to join Brandon Webb and Livan Hernandez, giving us a lot of stability and quality to our rotation as we proceed through the winter," Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said. Davis likely will fill the roster sport of free agent Miguel Batista, who is being courted by many teams and is unlikely to return. Davis can become a free agent after the 2007 season and was seeking a three-year deal from Milwaukee. "Doug Davis has been very dependable and a workhorse for the Brewers the past three years," Melvin said. "His competitiveness and steadiness will be missed. In Vargas, the Brewers potentially have Davis' rotation replacement. The 28-year-old went 12-10 with a 4.92 ERA in 31 games - 30 starts - for the Diamondbacks. "Vargas appears to be coming into his own," Melvin said. "He is a big, physical starter who has a power arm and will fit right into our rotation." After spending his first three years with the Montreal-Washington franchise, Vargas spent 2006 in Arizona. He is 32-32 with a 4.92 ERA. Aquino went 2-0 with a 4.47 ERA in 42 relief outings for Arizona last season. The 28-year-old recorded 16 saves as a rookie in 2004. A top prospect in the Milwaukee farm system, Eveland is 1-4 with a 6.98 ERA in 36 major league games, including five starts. The 23-year-old spent the bulk of 2006 with Class AAA Nashville, posting a 6-5 mark with a 2.74 ERA in 20 games - 19 starts. A starter in the minor leagues, Eveland pitched well out of the bullpen for Milwaukee in 2005 but struggled filling in for injured starters Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka last season. He was 10-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 18 starts at Class AA Huntsville in '05. Krynzel, 24, has played in 21 major league games, batting .188 (9-for-48) with six runs scored and three RBI. He spent last season with Nashville, hitting .231 with seven home runs, 40 RBI and 23 steals. The 11th overall pick in the 2000 draft has stolen 197 bases in seven minor league seasons.