Happy Birthday Marco Estrada

Marco Estrada turns 35 today.

Back on November 1, 2014 we weren’t exactly thrilled with the trade of Adam Lind for Marco Estrada. Here is something I said:

I’d likely be happier with the trade if we got someone younger. At 31...he’s not someone that’s going to suddenly become a star. And, with only one year of control left, if he does become someone good, will we keep him?

Wrong again, he did become a star. And we did keep him.

We had a poll, the day after the trade, 70% of us were unhappy about the trade.

We were told that part of the reason for the trade was ‘payroll flexibility’. And we did use that ‘flexibility’ at the trade deadline, so it seems like the trade worked. The less said about the trade that happened 2 days later the better (Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles for Esmil Rogers).

Since the trade Marco is 36-33 with a 4.00 ERA in 113 games, 107 starts.

In 2015 he had a 3.13 ERA and a 13-8 record in 34 games 28 starts and finished 10th in Cy Young voting. And he was terrific in the playoffs, with a 2.33 ERA in 3 starts.

In 2016 he was 9-9 with a 3.48 ERA. He made the All-Star team. He was terrific in the first half, with a 2.93 ERA, not so great in the second half, 4.27 ERA. Again he was great in the playoffs, making one of the best playoff starts in Jays history in game one of the ALDS.

Last year didn’t go so well, 10-9 with 4.98, his ERA was over 9 in June, and he was 0-5 in June and July, while battling back and neck troubles. This year started well and he went through a bad stretch of 9 starts with a 6.50 ERA but he seemed to have turned it around until the injury in his last start.

Adam Lind had a pretty good 2015 season, hitting .277/.360/.460 with 20 home runs. Since then he’s bounced around. He had a crappy 2016 with the Mariners and a good 2017 with the Nationals. At the moments he’s playing Triple A ball in the Red Sox system, after a couple of go rounds in the Yankees farm system. He’s hitting .248/.316/.429 in 28 games at Pawtucket.

Since the trade Marco has a 10.6 bWAR, while Lind has a 3.7 bWAR.

Anyway, Estrada has become my second favorite Marco ever (sorry, but Scutaro will always have a special place in my heart).

My favorite Estrada moment? Likely when he walked off the field in the 7th inning of game three of the 2015 ALDS. Going into the game we were down two games to one and it looked like our first playoff appearance in 22 years could end far too quickly. Of course, he was at least equally good in game five of the ALCS.

Happy Birthday Marco. Hope your ass is feeling better.