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NEW YORK -- Johnny Estrada never caught on with the New York Mets.

Johnny Estrada

Catcher
New York Mets

Profile

2007 Season Stats

GM	HR	RBI	R	OBP	AVG
120	10	54	40	.296	.278

Acquired last month in a trade with Milwaukee, Estrada was let go Wednesday when the Mets declined to offer him a contract for next season.

Coming off knee and elbow operations, the slow-footed catcher was shipped to New York on Nov. 20 in a deal that sent reliever Guillermo Mota to the Brewers. But only 10 days later Estrada became expendable when the Mets traded for another catcher, defensive standout Brian Schneider from Washington.

Estrada, who made $3.4 million this year, would have been eligible for arbitration. Now, he becomes a free agent and New York doesn't owe him any money. By unloading Mota, the Mets saved the $3.2 million he's guaranteed next year.

Teams had until midnight Wednesday to offer contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters. The Mets also cut ties with injured reliever Juan Padilla and minor league outfielder Ben Johnson.

The 31-year-old Estrada batted .278 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs in his lone season with the Brewers, but never meshed in the clubhouse and threw out just six of 79 base stealers. He also drew only 12 walks despite getting 442 at-bats, leaving him with a meager .296 on-base percentage.

He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Oct. 4 to repair a torn meniscus. He also had a bone spur removed from his right elbow. The operations were performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

An All-Star in 2004 with Atlanta, Estrada is a .280 career hitter with 42 homers and 281 RBIs in 589 games spanning seven major league seasons. He has spent his entire career in the National League, also playing for Philadelphia and Arizona.

The Mets acquired Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church from the Nationals for touted outfield prospect Lastings Milledge. New York also re-signed Ramon Castro to be its backup catcher again, though he could see more playing time next year.

Paul Lo Duca was New York's starting catcher the past two seasons but the Mets showed little interest in re-signing him. He agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract with the Nationals this week.

Yorvit Torrealba appeared set to become New York's No. 1 catcher when he and the Mets reached a preliminary agreement last month on a $14.4 million, three-year contract that was subject to a physical. But that deal fell through and Torrealba re-signed with Colorado.

Padilla, recovering from elbow surgery, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005, when he was 3-1 with a 1.49 ERA and one save in 24 appearances.

Johnson went 5-for-27 (.185) during a brief call-up with New York this year. He was acquired from San Diego last offseason in a four-player trade that sent successful setup man Heath Bell to the Padres.

Also on Wednesday, the Mets agreed to minor league contracts with catchers Raul Casanova and Gustavo Molina and right-hander Nate Field. All three were invited to spring training.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press