Let's go crazy for Jeremiah Estrada

This trip definitely sparked some negative feelings for Jed Hoyer, which, again, is fair. You will be criticized mercilessly if you don't put together a playoff team. And back to my starting point. Yes, I wish the Cubs had given Estrada a longer leash and would have preferred him to stay in the organization longer, for two main reasons: He was only 25 last offseason and had real bursts of success in the majors shown.

Plus, Estrada looked better after his time in the team's pitch lab in Arizona. At a time when the Cubs needed (and still need) as much backup talent as possible, releasing Estrada through waivers feels bad for the Cubs.

Jed is to blame for everything that goes wrong, and as the person in charge, that's just how it is. But long before August 2023, where was the pitch lab to help Estrada build a new pitch? Apparently he found it during his time in Arizona last year and figured out at least the early stages of what eventually became Estrada's nasty “rant.”

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez profiled Estrada's rise with the Padres back in June, and here's the origin of Estrada's chitter, which he eventually perfected in San Diego's system.

Via ESPN.

For nearly a month, the two experimented with a cutter and a gyro and watched videos of how Stephen Strasburg and Eric Gagne made their transition throws. Ultimately, they settled on a “Vulcan” grip similar to Gagne’s, in which the baseball is placed between the middle and ring fingers. After some tinkering, Estrada found a way to get a proper feel for the pitch — by putting his ring finger on a seam, putting his middle and index fingers on the side of the ball and telling himself to release it like his fastball.

“I threw one and it worked,” Estrada said. “It was like a light bulb went off.”

For Estrada, it took months to perfect. Shortly after discovering the field, Estrada carried a baseball with him everywhere, holding it whenever his right hand was free—in bed before falling asleep, in the bathroom while brushing his teeth, in the driver's seat of his car when… At a restaurant the red light came on while he waited for his order.

When he returned to Triple-A toward the end of the 2023 season, he only threw the pitch a handful of times — not nearly enough for the Cubs to understand the impact. They ousted Estrada from the 40-man roster on November 1, the evening of his 25th birthday. Five days later, the Padres, intrigued by the characteristics of his fastball, claimed him off waivers. About a month later, during an extended bullpen session with Niebla, Estrada found what he had been longing for – a connection.

“We had fun,” Estrada said. “Then you know you have a real relationship. It clicked.”

I mean, we see these stories all the time. Sometimes players just need a change of scenery, a new look to finally unlock something.

And that's why I really can't be completely upset about the Cubs letting Estrada go, because guess what, the Cubs have done the same thing with guys from other organizations. Additionally, we have seen in recent years that excipients are insanely volatile from year to year. Hats off to Estrada for working his ass off to get better and hopefully he keeps it up.

Here's hoping the Cubs have a little more patience the next time they have a 24-year-old pitcher who shows promise. I agree with that. Estrada wasn't a 31-year-old backup who had multiple chances to prove himself. He didn't even reach 20 innings with the Cubs.

This looks bad, and as much as we commend the team for its work in using fringe MLB players and producing positive results, it's more than fair to point out the flaws. Jeremiah Estrada seems like a big mistake for the Cubs right now.