Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada was reportedly claimed off revocable waivers, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Marco Estrada was claimed on trade waivers by an unknown team, source says. (These waivers are revocable.) @MLB@MLBNetwork
The claiming team is not known, and the Blue Jays do have the option to pull Estrada off waivers and keep him on their roster.
Jays manager John Gibbons said that parting ways with Estrada, who started Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, would be unlikely.
“My gut tells me nothing’s going to happen,” Gibbons told reporters before the game. “Or maybe my inside information tells me nothing’s going to happen.”
On news Estrada claimed waivers, Gibby:”nothing’s going to happen. We need him. Gut tells me nothing’s gonna happen, or I have inside info”
According to Baseball Prospectus, a source told the publication the claiming team was in the AL East and without actually naming the team, implied it was the New York Yankees. They reportedly did so to block any other teams from making a deal.
Since a team placed a claim on Estrada, they are the only team allowed to make a deal for him. If Estrada had gone through waivers unclaimed, then Toronto would have been able to trade him to any of the 29 teams in the league. The can also pull him back and not trade him.
While Estrada struggled through the middle stretch of the season, the 34-year-old seems to have re-found his form lately, posting a 2.08 earned-run average over his last four starts.
Estrada is 5-7 on the season with a 4.85 ERA.
Asked if he’d like to see the pending free agent back with Toronto next season, Gibbons replied: “No doubt about it.”
It’s important to note that placing players on revocable waivers is fairly commonplace after the non-waiver trade deadline, because it keeps teams options open.
