Toronto Blue Jays: Marco Estrada claimed on waivers
By Tim Haberin
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada has reportedly been claimed on waivers. With the veteran righty showing signs of life lately, is a trade likely to happen?
We’re just about halfway through the month of August, and we’ve already seen a few notable waiver trades go down. While nothing can compare to the July pre-deadline frenzy, there are still plenty of rumors to keep baseball fans engaged as the season nears its home stretch. In the latest bit of news, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada has been claimed on revocable waivers, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
The veteran hurler isn’t enjoying a great year in 2017. The 34-year-old Estrada owns a 4.85 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 2.50 K/BB ratio in 135.1 innings pitched. That’s well off from last season’s performance, when he earned his first ever All-Star Game appearance and posted a 3.48 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 2.54 K/BB over 176 frames.
Despite his struggles this year, there are certainly reasons a contending club would be interested in adding Estrada for the stretch run. He’s quietly been rounding into form of late, managing a 2.08 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over his last four starts. Estrada’s 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings also make for his highest K/9 rate since 2010.
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Estrada isn’t very far removed from a noteworthy period of success, either. He generated a 3.30 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 2.47 K/BB between the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. Estrada even led the American League both years in fewest hits allowed per nine, at 6.7 and 6.8, respectively. This season, that number has jumped up to 8.9 H/9. A .305 BABIP hasn’t helped in that regard, up from .216 and .234 the previous two years.
SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports that the claiming team is believed to be one of the Jays’ AL East rivals. With the probable exception of the Red Sox, you could make a case for any of the division’s other teams as potentially interested in Estrada. The Orioles and Rays are very much in the Wild Card race, and the Yankees could be open to adding another arm given the recent injuries in their rotation.
However, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports says Toronto isn’t particularly motivated to move Estrada. At just 3.5 games behind the second Wild Card, the Jays too are in the thick of the playoff hunt. They need to leapfrog over six other teams at the moment, but the Jays might prefer to hold on to Estrada and see if they can keep benefiting from his recent run of success.
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Estrada is a free agent at the end of the season and due under $4 million for the rest of the year. As a rental player not having a great year overall, the Blue Jays likely wouldn’t get much for him in any trade, which might also factor into their decision-making. In any case, they’ll have 48 hours to work out a deal with the claiming team or pull the right-hander back.
From Estrada’s perspective, he’ll hope to finish the season strong and enter free agency on a high note, regardless of where he’s pitching.