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Inside The Blue Jays

Blue Jays Announce Long Awaited Return of Lazaro Estrada

It isn't shocking that Toronto was going to have to mix it up again, because it was a brutal outing at Wrigley Field.
Maddy Dickens|
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider looks onto the field against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider looks onto the field against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

Merely an hour before the first pitch at Wrigley Field, the Toronto Blue Jays made some roster moves to shake up the bullpen. That quickly became the wrong choice.

It was Brendon Little who was recalled, and Chad Dallas was optioned in a corresponding move. The first concern came up when it seemed likely that Kevin Gausman wasn't going to make it out of the first inning, meaning that the pen was going to take on a heavy workload.

Well, Dallas showed that he can go longer than an inning or two, but now Toronto was without him, so both Tyler Rogers and Braydon Fisher had to be used in a far from close game.

Then, Little takes the mound in a blowout, no-pressure situation as the Blue Jays were down a touchdown before the second inning, and it didn't go well.

While Little had shown promise in Triple-A since his demotion, he did anything but prove himself Friday afternoon as he allowed four earned runs and walked three in one inning against the Chicago Cubs.

With that being said, it isn't shocking that management was forced to make another pitching change, as this team simply cannot afford to keep gambling on struggling relievers, and they wasted no time announcing that Lazaro Estrada would finally be reinstated from the 60-Day IL.

In a corresponding move, Little was sent back to Buffalo, which doesn't come as a surprise by any means.

Lazaro Estrada's Rehab Process

Lazaro Estrada throws a baseball in a blue Blue Jays jersey
Blue Jays relief pitcher Lazaro Estrada (60) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at Rate Field. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Estrada is one of the many that the Jays have had to be without for so long, as he and Alejandro Kirk both landed on the 60-day injured list around the same time. Back on April 5 started his IL stint after he was diagnosed with shoulder impingement.

However, after a successful rehab assignment, he is finally ready to rejoin Toronto, and it is coming at just the right time.

The assignment started in Single-A, but he has been primarily with Buffalo, and that is where he has been impressive. The Bisons used him as both a starter and reliever to stretch him out, and he has a 2.92 ERA in over 12 innings as he has held opponents to a .119 batting average since stepping into Triple-A.

Estrada's sample size is meniscal, but he had been almost perfect this season before he hit the IL. They used him in four innings as a long reliever against the Chicago White Sox for his lone outing, and he held them scoreless and hitless while walking a pair.

Right now, the Jays are in desperate need of reinforcements in the pen, and if Estrada can give them some quality time on the mound, it will make all the difference.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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