Blue Jays: What’s the trade market for Estrada like now?

Teams in need of injury replacements

Los Angeles Dodgers

With the news that Clayton Kershaw will be on the shelf for the next 4-6 weeks, it’s expected that the Dodgers will look to add some additional insurance in the rotation before the trade deadline. They’ve had all kinds of injury issues with their starters this season, but they’ve had plenty of depth to lean on.

However, things are pretty thin at the moment. In addition to Kershaw on the DL, they also have Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Hyun-Jin Ryu all on the sidelines. They’re so far ahead of the competition at this point that it’s not a pressing issue, but they’re still expected to pursue upgrades.

There are rumours connecting them to the likes of Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, and Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers, so they’ll be making calls in the last week before the deadline. Whether or not they call the Blue Jays about Estrada remains to be seen, but the dominoes can fall pretty quickly at this time of year, and he could be on someone’s radar as a back-up plan, should they miss on names like the two mentioned here, or the others picture below.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have a ton of pitching on the disabled list, and their rotation is pretty rough looking on paper. Ricky Nolasco is listed at the top of their depth chart on the team’s website, and he’s sporting a 5.13 ERA on the season.

Still, the Angels are only three games back of a Wild Card spot, and could be interested in a buy-low option like Estrada. They could use the pitching depth, especially if they see themselves as a team who could make the playoffs. They’ve also shied away from spending on big acquisitions the last season or two, after years of throwing big money to bring in stars like Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton.

The remainder of Estrada’s financial commitment shouldn’t be an issue either way though, so this seems like a viable match, if the Angels have any faith in an Estrada bounce back.