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

Seattle Mariners

This is the team that probably makes the most sense, at least in terms of need. The Mariners have been absolutely snake bitten by injury in their rotation, and yet here they are just a half game back of the second Wild Card spot with the Kansas City Royals.

They lost Drew Smyly for the season to Tommy John surgery, and they’ve also been without Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma for the vast majority of the year. The icing on the cake came this week when James Paxton joined the rest of them on the DL with a strained pectoral muscle on his throwing side. He’s expected to be out at least three weeks, and maybe longer. Given his emergence and the lack of other quality options in the rotation, Estrada could be a big difference maker in Seattle.

They should have Paxton back in plenty of time for the playoffs, and the team is hopeful that “King Felix” will be healthy by then as well. They’ll need to get there first though, and relying on a rotation on Ariel Miranda (7-5, 4.65), Yovani Gallardo (5-7, 5.38), Erasmo Ramirez (4-4, 5.10), and whomever else they come up with, just isn’t going to get it done.

The Mariners have a very potent offense, and are on the cusp of a playoff position at the moment, so it would make sense for them to call the Blue Jays and see if there’s a trade to be had. If they’re not fans of Estrada, you’ve gotta think they’re looking around to find some help from somewhere, right?