Milledge To Nats?

ESPN is reporting that the Mets have traded Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider.  On the surface, it's kind of a nice trade, but one that didn't have to be made.  However, if you dig deeper, it may work out.

Why I don't like it

1. The Mets now have a glut of catchers.  Schneider is one of the best defensive catchers in the league, but his offensive numbers are inferior to those of Johnny Estrada and Ramon Castro.
2. In his first 400+ at bat season, Church hit .272 with 15 HR and 70 RBI.  In 184 at bats, Milledge hit .272 with 7 HR and 29 RBI.  Where's the upgrade there?
3. The Mets now have one fewer young outfield prospect to deal for a starting pitcher.
4. Milledge still has more raw talent than Church, and will be a very good player, if he can ditch his lazy, gangsta attitude.

Why I like it

1. Schneider is a better defensive catcher than Estrada and Castro.  That should be your main consideration when acquiring a backstop.  He's thrown out 39% of attempted base stealers over his career.  There have been rumblings that the Mets never intended to keep Estrada, and this seems to suggest those rumblings were true.  Now he can be used in a trade, or the Mets will just non-tender his contract, and consider the deal an overall gain anyway, since they cut Guillermo Mota and his 2008 salary.
2. Church is a left-handed bat who will effectively take the place of Shawn Green.  He also gives the Mets more depth in the outfield should they need to trade a Carlos Gomez or Fernando Martinez.
3. Milledge's star fell significantly over the past two years, and his attitude has shown no signs of improvement.  Other teams don't covet him the way they used to, either.

Perhaps, by trading Milledge, the Mets gave themselves more desirable chips to flip over into a starting pitcher.  At least we should hope so.