Headlines

  • Red Sox To Promote Payton Tolle
  • Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season
  • Frankie Montas To Undergo UCL Surgery
  • Guardians Release Carlos Santana
  • Brewers Place Trevor Megill On IL Due To Flexor Strain, Sign Erick Fedde
  • Guardians Place Carlos Santana On Outright Waivers
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Marco Estrada Happy To Be Back With Blue Jays

By Zachary Links | March 6, 2016 at 2:59pm CDT

Marco Estrada’s first experience through free agency was over before it could even get underway.  In November, following a career year, the right-hander agreed to return to Toronto on a two-year deal worth $26MM.  Estrada would have liked to take his time on the open market, but after careful consideration, the hurler decided that he would be better off taking a two-year deal from Toronto rather than accept the one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer.

“I wanted to test it just to see what it was like. I probably would have returned to this team anyway. I did want to test the market. Who doesn’t?,” Estrada told MLBTR during a one-on-one chat in Dunedin, Florida.  “I’ve never been through free agency and I was coming off of a really good year so why not test free agency? I didn’t get to experience it, but I’m happy with my decision. I’m glad to be back and I’m happy with how my deal worked out. But, it would have been nice to see what it’s like. Who knows, maybe two years from now I’ll try free agency.”

The veteran pitcher and his reps at TWC Sports pushed hard for a three- or four-year commitment from the Blue Jays, but they ultimately agreed to the two-year offer.  From the sound of it, the Blue Jays were firmly against giving the 32-year-old (33 in July) a longer deal.

“We tried to get a third or fourth year.  I don’t think it was ever going to be close on their part.  Obviously, I tried.  I wanted less money for more years, but they didn’t want to do it.  It’s fine.  I like the deal I got now.  I guess the AAV went up and it was only two years but, it’s good, you know, I can’t complain,” Estrada said.

Even after seeing many of the offseason’s top available pitchers rocket past their projected earnings, it’s not clear whether Estrada could have netted a hefty three- or four- year pact.  Estrada, on one hand, ended the season with a strong 3.13 ERA over 181 innings.  The advanced stats aren’t as kind to him, however.  As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted in November, Estrada wound up with a career-low 8.7% HR/FB rate and a .216 batting average on balls in play, factors that surely played a role in his breakout year.

Regardless of the contract, Estrada is happy to be back in Toronto for two more seasons.

“I look at the team that came back and it’s a pretty solid team. It’s not a lineup I’d like to face, I’ll tell you that right now,” the pitcher said. “Knowing I’m going to have these guys behind me, not just the offense they give me, but the defense. Nobody ever talks about the defense here and I think we’ve got one of the best defensive teams in the league. A guy like me, I need a good defense behind me, so why not come back here and have these guys play hard for me?”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 13 Retweet 18 Send via email0

Interviews MLBTR Originals Toronto Blue Jays Marco Estrada

MLBTR Originals
Main
AL East Notes: Warren, Yankees, Rays
View Comments (3)
Post a Comment

3 Comments

  1. cxcx

    9 years ago

    Does the last sentence of the first paragraph make logical sense?

    He wanted A, but after careful consideration chose B over C.

    What happened to A?

    Reply
    • Ted

      9 years ago

      Agreed, it doesn’t really make any sense. He could certainly have waited longer if he thought a better deal was out there.

      Reply
    • go_jays_go

      9 years ago

      It’s a loaded sentence but it serves as the thesis to the article, while the remainder of the the article explains things quite well.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox To Promote Payton Tolle

    Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season

    Frankie Montas To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Guardians Release Carlos Santana

    Brewers Place Trevor Megill On IL Due To Flexor Strain, Sign Erick Fedde

    Guardians Place Carlos Santana On Outright Waivers

    Pirates Designate Andrew Heaney For Assignment

    Astros Reinstate Yordan Alvarez From Injured List

    Nathan Eovaldi Likely Out For Season Due To Rotator Cuff Strain

    Mets To Promote Jonah Tong

    BBWAA To Institute Relief Pitcher Of The Year Award In 2026

    Zack Wheeler Recommended For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Surgery

    Frankie Montas Done For 2025 Due To “Pretty Significant” UCL Injury

    Orioles Extend Samuel Basallo

    Astros Sign Craig Kimbrel

    Pirates Promote Bubba Chandler

    Evan Carter Diagnosed With Fractured Wrist

    Blue Jays Activate Shane Bieber

    MLB, ESPN Nearing Deal Involving MLB.TV And In-Market Rights For Five Clubs

    Rays Promote Carson Williams

    Recent

    Red Sox To Promote Payton Tolle

    Jonathan Loáisiga Done For The Year

    The Reds’ Newest Infield Question

    Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season

    Frankie Montas To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Francisco Alvarez Suffers Finger Fracture, Still Hopes To Return This Year

    Latest On Astros’ Rotation

    Poll: NL Rookie Of The Year Check-In

    Guardians Release Carlos Santana

    Giants Unlikely To Call Up Bryce Eldridge This Year

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version