Report: Royals in talks with Blue Jays about Happ, Estrada
The Kansas City Royals were interested in the Blue Jays' Francisco Liriano before he was reportedly traded to the Houston Astros on Monday, so they may now turn their attention to a different pair of Toronto starters.
Kansas City is in talks with Toronto about J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
With the Blue Jays mired in last place in the American League East, it's not surprising they'd be shopping Happ and Estrada, who have both regressed after fantastic 2016 campaigns.
After winning 20 games last season, Happ is 3-8 with a 4.15 ERA, with his hits per nine increasing from 7.8 to 9.3. He has increased his strikeouts from 7.9 SO/9 to 8.1 SO/9, while his walks have decreased (2.8 BB/9 to 2.7 BB/9).
Estrada's ERA has skyrocketed from 3.48 to 5.43 thanks to a major increase in hits allowed (6.8 H/9 to 9/4 H/9). He's also given up 19 home runs so far, which is just four away from his total for all of 2016.
Estrada is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, while Happ is set to earn $13 million next season and will be a free agent in 2019.