Today in Blue Jays history: Adam Lind traded for Marco Estrada

It was three years ago to day that Alex Anthopoulos traded Adam Lind to the Brewers for Marco Estrada. I wasn't overly thrilled about the trade, at the time. He appeared to be a kind of middling 5th starter/long reliever/swing man type. I expected a little more for Lind. I worried about Estrada’s tendency to give up home runs, with him moving to the AL East.

The next day we put up a poll and, well, most of us didn't like the trade:

• Absolutely hate it: 21%
• Slightly unhappy, but willing to see what else we do: 49%
• Neutral: 18%
• Somewhat happy: 9%
• Very happy: 2%

As it turned out, it was one of those trades that helped both teams. Lind hit .277/.360/.460 in 149 games, good for a 3.1 bWAR, his best WAR number since 2009.

Marco started the season in the bullpen, then joined the rotation with the start of May. It took him a few starts to get going, (0-3 with a 5.02 ERA in May in 5 starts) but, after that, he was terrific. From June 1st on, he was 12-5 with a 2.92 ERA. In all, he had a 3.6 bWAR.

And Marco had a pretty nice postseason. He made 3 starts, went 2-1, with a 2.32 ERA. He came up big when we really needed him.

After the season he signed a 3-year, $39 million contract, which has one more season left.

In his first 3 seasons, as a Blue Jay, he has a 32-26 record with a 3.88 ERA. I think we can all agree it was a good trade.

For 2015, our offense really didn't miss Lind's bat (though, it might have been nice to have a left-handed power bat to give us a little bit of balance). Since the trade Lind has gone from the Brewers to the Mariners to the Nationals.

I was, and will continue to be a fan of Adam's. I wrote a goodbye post a couple of days later.

Also, three years ago, the Jays exercised the option in J.A. Happ's contract (then traded him to Seattle, a month later, for Michael Saunders and they gave Melky Cabrera a Qualifying Offer. He ended up signing with the White Sox (3 years, $42 million, glad it wasn't us). As a White Sox he hit .287/.331/.427 with 39 home runs in 407 games. Not bad, not great.

Also on this day:

39 years ago: The Jays traded catcher Rick Cerone (with pitcher Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn) to the Yankees for Chris Chambliss, Damaso Garcia and Paul Mirabella.

Cerone played 5 seasons for the Yankees, then went on to the Braves, Brewers, Yankees again, Red Sox, Yankees again and Expos. He had a good season in 1980, hitting .277/.321/.432, and he finished 7th in MVP voting. After that he was a part-timer for the Yankees for four more years.

Underwood had been our best starter for 2 seasons, and had a good 1980 season, for the Yankees, going 13-9 with a 3.66 ERA in 38 games, 27 starts. He had a pretty poor start to the next season and was traded to the A’s.

Ted Wilborn would play 8 games for the Yankees and never be seen in the majors again.

The big piece for the Jays was Damaso Garcia, he would go on to play second (and hit leadoff) for the next seven seasons. He hit .288/.309/.371 with 194 steals as a Jay.

Chambliss was a fan favorite for the Yankees. The Jays flipped him to the Braves for Barry Bonnell Joey McLaughlin and Pat Rockett.

In 1980 Mirabella pitched in 33 games, making 22 starts, putting up a 5-12 record and a 4.34 ERA. He had a rough start to 1981 and was traded to the Cubs.