The Hawaii Tropics sign power hitting first baseman Luis Estrada to a four year $66 million deal to replace the 35 HR and 120 RBI lost when Tomas Borges left in free agency. Estrada has big power and can field multiple positions for Hawaii. He blasted 44 HR last season in New Orleans and drove in 135 runs for the Crawdads. He played good defense at first and can fill some spots in left and right if needed.
GM Jim Walker said of Estrada, “We love his power from both sides of the plate. He will get some protection from some of our young hitters like Felipe Hernandez, Carlos Sanchez and a healthy Russ McHaney.”
The four-year deal will pay Estrada $18 million this season, $17 mil in 2059, $16 mil in ’60 and $15 mil in the final year. He has bonuses of $1.5 million for winning a Sawyer Silk and half a million All Star bonus.
Hawaii also selected a first baseman Maximo Littlefield in the Rule V Draft from Nashville.
Walker said, “I liked this kid when I saw him in the draft pool. For a lefty hitter his ratings suggest he should hit lefties well. He’ll strikeout a bit but we’ll give him a shot in spring training and let’s face it, he wasn’t beating out Wafid Bishr anyway.”
