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Blue Jays: Eric Lauer stepped up in 2025 just like Ross Stripling did in 2022
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Dec 29, 2025, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 29, 2025, 15:51 EST
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There’s a legitimate argument that Eric Lauer was the Toronto Blue Jays’ most important player last season.
The Blue Jays’ rotation was in trouble after Max Scherzer went down with an injury and Bowden Francis struggled. After several bullpen games, the Blue Jays finally called up Lauer toward the end of April. The left-handed pitcher made three appearances out of the bullpen, then two starts on May 17 and May 23. After another three outings out of the bullpen, Lauer finally settled into the Jays’ rotation.
From Jun. 11 until Aug. 16, Lauer made 14 starts, authoring a 3.05 ERA and 3.39 FIP in 62 innings pitched, with a 24.6 K% and 6.3 BB%. Lauer’s final start was on Aug. 27, where he gave up six earned runs and four home runs in four and two-thirds innings of work. However, this was around the time that Shane Bieber was activated off the injured list, moving the Jays to a six-man rotation and messing with the routine of both Lauer and José Berríos.
While Berríos didn’t recover and eventually ended up in the bullpen, then to the injured list, adjusting back to the bullpen was no problem for Lauer. Over the final month of the season, Lauer had a 3 ERA and 2.64 FIP in 12 innings pitched in seven games.
Lauer’s strong season continued into the playoffs, posting a 3.12 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 8.2 innings pitched. All three of the earned runs he gave up were in his first outing of the postseason, a 13-7 blowout victory in Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series. Lauer’s 15.8 BB% may not look great on a surface level, but he intentionally walked three batters in Game 3 of the World Series, where he pitched four and two-thirds innings during extra innings.
Wherever the Blue Jays needed him, Lauer stepped up in a big way. Overall, he finished with a 3.18 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 104.2 innings pitched last season, not too shabby for a minor-league signing.
It’s not the first time an unsung hero has emerged for the Blue Jays, you need to look no further than the 2022 season with Ross Stripling. If not for Stripling, there’s a good chance that the Blue Jays wouldn’t have made the postseason that year.
The pathway to acquire Stripling was different for the Blue Jays. Before the 2020 trade deadline, they sent Kendall Williams and Ryan Noda to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the right-handed pitcher. Like Lauer, Stripling had a few strong seasons in years past, including earning a nod to the 2018 All-Star Game.
Upon joining the Jays to end the 2020 season, Stripling struggled. He also struggled to begin the 2021 season, but eventually got hot from May 29 until Aug. 10, posting a 3.29 ERA in 68.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he missed a month of action and couldn’t return to the form he had before.
Stripling served as a swing man for the first two months of the 2022 season, posting a 4.22 ERA and 3.27 FIP in 32 innings pitched from the beginning of the season until Jun. 1. Over those 13 outings, Stripling started five games. When Hyun Jin Ryu went down with an injury in early June, it was Stripling that stepped up.
Over his next 19 starts, Stripling authored a 2.64 ERA and 3.06 FIP in 102.1 innings pitched, with a 20.6 K% and 3 BB%. Stripling often went two times through the order, but ate significant innings in the process. On one occasion, he pitched a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles in August of that year.
With Ryu’s injury, along with Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi’s struggles, the Blue Jays needed someone to step up, and Stripling did just that. It’s easy to see the parallels between him and Lauer.
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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