Lazaro Estrada's next trip to the minors comes with a real catch this time. Whenever the Toronto Blue Jays option him again, it'll mark the fifth time this season he's been sent down, not counting a Spring Training option.
That number matters under MLB's roster rules. The next time Estrada gets called back up, if Toronto wants to option him off the 26-man roster again after that, he'll need to first clear waivers.
That's a real risk for a player who's shown genuine promise in his limited big league look, posting a 4.82 ERA across four appearances and 9.1 innings this season.
Waivers give every other team in baseball a chance to claim a player before he can simply be sent back to the minors, meaning Toronto could lose Estrada outright to another organization if he doesn't clear.
This kind of roster rule exists specifically to prevent teams from endlessly shuttling a player between the majors and minors without limit, and Estrada's usage pattern this season has clearly bumped up against that threshold.
Toronto sits at 53-60, last in the American League East, in the middle of a bullpen usage crunch that's already been described by John Schneider as pushing past what's genuinely sustainable this season.
Why this timing complicates an already stretched bullpen
Losing Estrada to a waiver claim would remove one more depth option from a pitching staff that's dealt with constant injuries and roster churn all year.
Toronto will need to weigh that risk carefully the next time it considers optioning him, since keeping him on the active roster might now be the safer play compared to risking losing him entirely.
It's a bit like knowing you can't return an item to the store anymore after too many exchanges, forcing a much more careful decision about whether to make that next swap at all.
Does this rule actually change how Toronto handles Estrada going forward, or does the front office simply accept the risk given how much roster churn has already defined this bullpen all season?
Whatever happens next, Toronto's decision on Estrada now carries real stakes beyond just performance evaluation.
Should the Blue Jays keep Lazaro Estrada on the roster to avoid risking losing him to waivers?
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