Blue Jays: If they trade him, where could Estrada go?

With his recent surge on the mound, speculation will ramp up that Marco Estrada could end up being traded in August. Which teams might still be interested in acquiring him?

It’s a tricky thing trading for a rental pitcher, and even more so when they’re being acquired in August. A team really has to believe in their playoff chances in order to make that type of trade, because you’re basically getting a half dozen or so regular season starts, and however long you last in the playoffs.

However, there are plenty of teams in need of pitching as the stretch run approaches, and even though the non-waiver deadline has come and gone, teams are still able to make moves in August, it’s just a little more difficult.

Prior to the non-waiver deadline, the Blue Jays traded Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros, and Joe Smith to the Cleveland Indians. Both pitchers are on expiring contracts and didn’t represent foundational pieces, but trading pitching is never a good sign towards your chances of competing in the current season. For the Blue Jays, it was a chance to bring back some players that could help soon, and in the Liriano trade they brought back Teoscar Hernandez, in addition to veteran outfielder, Nori Aoki.

If they have a chance to move other expiring contracts like Marco Estrada‘s, or even Jose Bautista‘s in August, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins do just that. Bautista has already been rumoured to have been on the revocable waivers, but there hasn’t been any reports of the same for Estrada, yet anyway.

If the Blue Jays decide to move him for the remainder of the season, it won’t preclude them from bringing him back next year, and could help them in the long run. It could also be a fun couple months for Estrada if he can latch on to a playoff team, and will only serve to improve his stock in free agency.

So, who might be interested?