Johnny Estrada readily admits that he is outspoken, to the point of sometimes riling his teammates. But he's not about to apologize for it.

"I know how to win; I'm passionate about winning," said the 30-year-old catcher, one of three players acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers from Arizona over the weekend. "Maybe sometimes I voiced that too much, when things were not going well."

Whether that feistiness led to Estrada's exit from Arizona after one season or not, the Brewers considered him the key to the deal that also netted starting pitcher Claudio Vargas and reliever Greg Aquino. The Brewers completed that trade by sending left-hander Doug Davis and minor-leaguers Dana Eveland and David Krynzel to the Diamondbacks.

Estrada, who batted .302 with 11 homers and 71 RBI in 115 games in 2006, had not heard the Brewers were interested in him. But he did expect to be traded.

"I kind of fell out of favor, for whatever reason," said Estrada, who already had been traded by Philadelphia and Atlanta. "Once we fell out of the race, my playing time diminished in September. It was frustrating for me. I could feel something was going to happen."

Prepared to go with rookie Miguel Montero and backup Chris Snyder, the Diamondbacks didn't hesitate to move Estrada to get pitching help. After bouncing from club to club, the switch-hitter said he wouldn't mind putting down some roots in Milwaukee.

"The Milwaukee Brewers want me. I'm excited about that," Estrada said Monday in a conference call with local media. "We'll see what happens.

"I'm looking forward to playing for (manager) Ned Yost. I know he's a disciple of (Atlanta manager) Bobby Cox. I hear nothing but good things about him."

Estrada was plagued for much of the second half of the 2006 season by an ongoing stomach condition eventually diagnosed as an ulcer.

He said he was sick on many game days, including the July 14 contest against the Brewers in which Estrada socked a two-run, walk-off homer off Derrick Turnbow to give Arizona a 4-3 victory.

Known as a free swinger but also a contact hitter, Estrada drew only 13 walks in 414 at-bats last season and struck out just 40 times.

Unlike Estrada, Vargas said he was surprised to be traded after putting together his best big-league season, going 12-10 with a 4.83 earned run average in 31 games.

"They told me they were happy with my year," said Vargas, a 28-year-old right-hander. "But I'm happy. I know we've got a good, young team and good people there. I think this team is one of the best for me because it's a young team and I'm a young pitcher."

Estrada said he was told he'd be the No. 1 catcher ahead of Damian Miller, who held that role for the Brewers the past two seasons. Miller, who exercised a player option for $2.25 million for 2007, had yet to hear that news from general manager Doug Melvin as of Monday afternoon.

Miller said he was upset "a little bit" upon hearing of the Estrada trade.

"I still feel I can play every day and I'd like to play every day but I understand their point of view," Miller said in a telephone interview from his home in La Crosse. "I'm not a spring chicken anymore and I was kind of beat up in the second half."

Miller, 37, was limited to only 36 games after the all-star break by a variety of ailments and batted just .207 with one homer and 10 RBI over that span. He expressed some doubt that the Brewers would keep him as a back-up at his salary but said he wanted to stay, even in that role.

"I'd really like to stay there," Miller said. "It's a perfect situation for me.

"I'm trying to look at the positive aspects of it. I still feel I can play. But I'm a Brewers fan, too, and if it's good for the team, I'm all for it. I think Estrada is a solid catcher."

O'Brien promoted: The Brewers promoted Dan O'Brien to special assistant to Melvin. O'Brien, former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, joined the organization last year as a talent evaluator of the players in the Brewers' farm system.

Fielder honored: Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder was a unanimous selection to the Topps Rookie All-Star team.