Lazaro Estrada is coming back, and John Schneider just got another live arm back into the Blue Jays' pitching picture.
MLB Trade Rumors reported Thursday night that Toronto will reinstate Estrada from the 60-day injured list, citing Francys Romero. The move is easier for the Blue Jays to make now because the club recently cleared 40-man space by moving on from Yariel Rodriguez and Connor Seabold.
This matters because Estrada's season got interrupted almost as soon as it started. He made 1 major-league appearance for Toronto on April 4, throwing 4 scoreless innings against the White Sox, then landed on the injured list with an impingement in his throwing shoulder. He was later transferred to the 60-day IL on May 28.
That one outing was quietly impressive. Estrada gave the Blue Jays clean length, allowed no runs, and looked like a pitcher who could help the staff in more than one role if he stayed healthy.
Now Toronto at least gets the chance to revisit that idea. RotoWire reported recently that Estrada was already eligible to return and had been pitching on assignment, with the Blue Jays possibly deciding whether to stretch him out further or bring him back sooner.
The rehab work gave the club something to like. In his latest outing, Estrada piggybacked Grant Rogers and needed only 29 pitches to record 9 outs, which is exactly the kind of crisp line that gets a pitcher back into the conversation.
That is the bigger story here. Toronto is not just activating a name off the injured list. It is getting back a right-hander who already showed he could give usable innings and who now returns at a time when the pitching staff still has moving parts.
Toronto's staff still needs arms that can cover innings
The Blue Jays have been cycling through bullpen and rotation help for weeks. Max Scherzer is back on the IL, Chad Dallas was just optioned, and Brendon Little was recalled, so the staff still is not exactly sitting still.
That gives Estrada a real opening. Whether Toronto sees him as rotation depth, a bulk reliever, or simply a fresh arm, his return comes at a time when innings still matter more than labels. This is an inference based on the team's recent pitching transactions and Estrada's ability to work multiple innings.
There is still one detail left for the Blue Jays to settle. Reinstating Estrada restores him to the roster picture, but Toronto still has to decide exactly where his next innings will come from. That is an inference based on the report saying he will be reinstated, without specifying an active-role assignment yet.
For now, the message is simple. Lazaro Estrada is on his way back from the 60-day injured list, and the Blue Jays are getting another chance to see whether the sharp 4-inning debut from April was the start of something useful instead of a season interrupted too early.
Should the Blue Jays give Lazaro Estrada real innings right away?
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