TORONTO -- The transaction is tucked neatly away in Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos' Executive of the Year audition catalog. Nine months before Anthopoulos made dual trade-deadline splashes by adding star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and ace pitcher David Price to the Blue Jays' roster in late July, he sent longtime franchise staple Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers for a human home run dispenser named Marco Estrada.
Based on Estrada's 29 long balls allowed in 150 2/3 innings with Milwaukee in 2014, the Blue Jays had ample reason to believe his ceiling might be as a back-of-the-rotation starter or a serviceable reliever.
For the moment, he's their savior.
Estrada extended Toronto's season with 7 2/3 innings of brilliance in a 7-1 victory over Kansas City in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday, and the magnitude of his achievement finally sank in as manager John Gibbons approached the mound to tell him he was finished for the day.
After receiving a series of glove taps from Josh Donaldson, Chris Colabello and the other Toronto infielders, Estrada placed his hand on Gibbons' shoulder and relinquished the ball. Then he took a slow walk into a deafening, towel-waving tribute that was beyond his wildest imagination. It ended with congratulatory fist bumps from Mark Buehrle, Russell Martin and other teammates who had watched in admiration from the dugout.
"I don't even remember,'' Estrada said. "I kind of just put my head down, walked in and tried to take it all in -- how loud the stadium got. It was an incredible feeling walking off that mound.''
With a 2-1 record, 2.33 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in three playoff outings, Estrada is entering the pantheon of unheralded starters who've elevated their games in October. The fraternity's other pledges in recent years include Jeff Weaver of the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, Colby Lewis of the 2010 Texas Rangers and Ryan Vogelsong of the 2012 San Francisco Giants -- solid pitchers who've taken it up a notch when the entire baseball world is watching.
At a compact 6 feet and 200 pounds, Estrada also provides a dose of inspiration to undersized right-handed pitchers with middling velocity. His average fastball of 89.7 mph this season placed him 69th among 78 qualifying starters on the FanGraphs rankings -- right between Mike Fiers and Jon Niese.
But he's competitive, cool under pressure, and studious and resourceful enough to keep his eyes open and add to his repertoire when the opportunity presents itself. One of the seminal moments of Estrada's career came when he was working his way up through the Washington Nationals' system and he picked up the changeup from a former teammate named Clint Everts. The pitch has been a genuine equalizer for much of his career.
"It's Bugs Bunny-esque,'' said Toronto lefty David Price. "Even out there in the bullpen, you can kind of see it hit the brakes. He does it with full arm speed -- with fastball arm speed -- and that's part of the reason why it's so good.''
Estrada began this season in the Toronto bullpen before working his way into the rotation through attrition. Once there, he clung to his spot with dogged determination. His 2.78 ERA after the All-Star break ranked second to Price among AL starters in that span, and he progressively gained confidence through his relationship with Dioner Navarro, who has mind-melded with him and become his personal catcher.
Nothing fazes him,'' said Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista. "He keeps the same cool, the same demeanor and the same attitude no matter what's going on in a game. I've seen him get out of some pretty big jams this year with some gutsy pitches. It doesn't really matter what the situation is. Bases loaded, I've seen him throw 2-0 breaking balls and 3-2 changeups. Stuff that's unconventional, but he gets the job done.''
Estrada's Game 5 start was a challenge for reasons beyond the fact that Toronto's season was on the line. He was facing a Kansas City lineup that had produced back-to-back 15-hit games and batted a collective .331 in the first four games of the series.
Just a day earlier, Gibbons used infielder Cliff Pennington to save his bullpen in the late stages of a 14-2 pummeling. Estrada set the tone by retiring nine straight Royals through the first three innings. His fastball command was better than in Game 1, when he was outpitched by Edinson Volquez in a 5-0 loss. And he deftly mixed in cutters and curveballs with full knowledge that he could always rely on his money pitch: the change.
"He knows how to use it,'' Navarro said. "He can throw it for a strike, and he can throw it for a chase. He can throw it in any count, in any situation, and it's up to me to determine when to use it. He trusts me that much. It just makes the whole thing that much easier for the both of us.''
As an emotional flatliner, Estrada is also temperamentally suited for October. He was able to tune out crowd noise, the expectations of his teammates and the realization that Volquez was pitching another fine game and he had precious little margin for error.
"I don't really pay attention to who is pitching for the other team,'' Estrada said. "I don't have to face him, so what's the point of me looking over there? During the regular season, guys on the team would make fun. They'd said, 'Oh, you've got this guy [tonight].' And I'd say, 'I don't have to worry. You guys have to worry.'"
With the exception of a solo home run by Salvador Perez in the eighth inning, Estrada fulfilled his main objective of keeping the ball in the yard. He struck out five Royals, induced six fly-ball outs and recorded eight outs on the ground; not bad for a guy who sported the third-lowest ground ball-to-fly ball ratio in the majors behind Hector Santiago and Dan Haren this season.
It remains to be seen whether Estrada will get another shot to pitch this month -- or if his tenure in Toronto will continue in 2016. He's a free agent this winter, and his performance this season establishes him as an appealing option for teams looking for a reliable option in the non-break-the-bank category.
If this was, indeed, his final start of 2015, Estrada had a heck of an ending. First came the standing ovation. Then he sat at a podium with Toronto shortstop and fellow Long Beach State Dirtbag Troy Tulowitzki and received the type of questions and treatment typically accorded the likes of Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling or Madison Bumgarner.
Not long afterward, the Blue Jays boarded a charter flight to Kansas City rather than go their separate ways for the winter. They owe Marco Estrada, their surprise postseason ace, a great big thank-you for that.