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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Lázaro Estrada is one of many starting pitching depth options
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Photo credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 23, 2026, 19:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 23, 2026, 18:53 EST
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One of the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest strengths is their starting pitching depth.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Jonatan Clase. In this article, we’ll look at Lázaro Estrada.
In the summer of 2018, the Blue Jays signed Estrada to a minor league deal, with the Cuban right-handed pitcher making his debut shortly after. Over 14 starts, he had a 2.06 ERA and 2.48 FIP in 70 innings pitched. He made nine starts in 11 outings in 2019, before missing all of the 2020 season due to the pandemic, and then most of the 2021 and 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery.
From 2021 until 2024, Estrada spent at least a potion of the season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, including a 2023 season where he authored a 2.83 ERA and FIP in 76.1 innings pitched, getting his name out there. After starting the 2024 season in Single-A, Estrada was quickly promoted to High-A, then Double-A, as he had a 4.47 ERA and 3.42 FIP over 11 starts.
Estrada didn’t have a great beginning to his 2025 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, posting a 4.75 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 60.2 innings pitched. That didn’t stop the Blue Jays from adding him to their 40-man roster and calling up for an outing against the Los Angeles Angels on July 5th. Over four innings, Estrada struck out four batters without surrendering a free pass. He didn’t earn the win, but it was a good showing for the pitching prospect.
He struggled in his next two outings in the minor leagues, and was called up for a doubleheader toward the end of July. Replacing Easton Lucas, who had given up four earned runs in two and two-third innings, Estrada had a good start to his outing, striking a batter to get out of the third inning, before two scoreless innings. 
Coming out for the bottom of the sixth, he hit two of the first three batters he saw, en route to a six-run inning. Realistically, he had one bad inning in the seven and one-third big league innings he pitched in.
Estrada didn’t have a great end to his season with the Bisons, posting a 7.20 ERA in 30 innings pitched, transitioning to a long-relief role over his final five outings. Still, it’s Estrada’s stuff that makes him so intriguing. Both his curveball and slider have excellent spin, while his fastball averaged a tick under 94 mph in the two big league games he pitched. He generates a ton of whiffs while keeping batters’ hard-hit percentage down significantly.
With so much starting pitching depth, especially with the return of Ricky Tiedemann and Chad Dallas, it’s hard to see Estrada earning starts with the Bisons in 2026. That said, there’s certainly a pathway for the 26-year-old to pitch for the Jays in 2026, as it’d require him to have a season similar to his 2023 and 2024 seasons. 
Steamer projects he’ll have a 4.12 ERA and 4.26 FIP in 25 innings pitched, all in relief. If he’s to get a legitimate look in the big leagues, ZiPS has him posting a 4.67 ERA and 4.59 FIP in 88 innings pitched, starting 17 of the 24 games he appears in.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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