Just learned that he has to make a decision on whether to go to the minors or be released BEFORE he is allowed to talk to other clubs, so there is some risk involved. He clearly isn’t happy with the Dodgers, although it’s a little bit of a reach to say his comments to the media were any sort of a rip job. They were more just an expression of dissatisfaction, especially with the fact he was released on the day after he felt he pitched well for the first time this spring and on the day he came in feeling a bit more confident in his chances as a result. He said he was told of the news in a meeting with Joe Torre, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and assistant general managers Kim Ng and De Jon Watson. Estes also expressed disappointment with the fact that general manager Ned Colletti wasn’t present at the meeting.
“I would certainly like to talk to Ned, to be honest,” he said. Then, when asked if he found it strange that Colletti wasn’t there, Estes said, “Yeah.”
Well, as it turns out, it’s pretty standard procedure with the Dodgers for Colletti NOT to attend these meetings. He routinely leaves it to Torre and the appropriate coach, and Ng is generally the person who negotiates minor-league deals with veteran free agents.
“I haven’t been in that room in three years,” Colletti said. “Now all of a sudden I’m going to be in there because Shawn Estes is in there?”
Another concern Estes had was hypothetical: if he agrees to go to Triple-A, is he even guaranteed a spot in the ABQ rotation after the Dodgers make the rest of their cuts, cuts that potentially could clog the ABQ rotation with other guys and squeeze Estes out, something that probably would lead to his being released anyway?
“We don’t know that yet,” Colletti said.