Despite the pain, last year the hurler who is entering his age-34 season, ended up being pretty resilient and managed to throw 176 innings.
On the surface, the potential impact of Estrada’s uncertain lumbar/vertebrae situation to the rotation should be manageable, with hopefully a spot-start here and there from the likes of Gavin Floyd or possibly more likely Joe Biagini, after some stretching out in camp.
They’re both big and resilient and can be able to handle a decent workload as a spot-starter if either was called upon to take the ball. After all, before Floyd rebuilt his shoulder, more than once, and re-established his career as a bullpen piece, he made a name for himself in the show as a starter (at one point, 2008, he went 17-8 with a 3.