The Eric Lauer era is over.
On Monday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Lauer has been designated for assignment. This comes a day following one of his worst outings as a Blue Jay. Replacing him on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters is Yariel Rodríguez. This season, Lauerr has a 6.69 ERA and 6.94 FIP in 36.1 innings pitched, with six of his eight outings being starts. The season started off well for the 30-year-old lefty, striking out nine over five and one-third innings with just two earned runs in his season debut.
After that, Lauer got sick, pitching just two innings in what turned out to be a loss to the Chicago White Sox. Since then, Lauer hasn’t looked anything like the pitcher he was last season. Against the Minnesota Twins, Lauer gave up a season-high seven earned runs in five and one-third innings. Each of his next two starts saw him go five innings with three earned runs.
There was some optimism after his April 29th start against the Boston Red Sox, giving up a home run in the first inning, but eventually threw four and one-third innings with no other runs scored. That quickly optimism was short-lived thanks to his start against the Tampa Bay Rays, as he gave up a three-run home run in the first inning. On April 17th, the Blue Jays turned to an opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, something that Lauer was critical of after the game. May 10th’s game also saw the Blue Jays use an opener (Spencer Miles), as well as Tommy Nance for the fourth. Lauer entered the top of the fifth with a one-run lead, but immediately gave up a go-ahead two-run home run in what became a four run inning. Jo Adell took him deep twice later in the game, as Lauer surrendered six earned runs over five innings of work. It was a sad end to his Blue Jays’ tenure, as Lauer was arguably the team’s MVP in 2025. Signed as a minor league free agent after seven starts in Korea, Lauer eventually earned a promotion in the big leagues, stepping into the rotation when Max Scherzer was injured and Bowden Francis was struggling. Over 28 outings, Lauer had a 3.18 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 104.2 innings pitched. In his 13 games pitched out of the bullpen, Lauer had a 1.76 ERA, seventh-best among relievers with 30 or more innings pitched.
The last time he looked like the pitcher who helped save the rotation in 2025, was ironically his final game of the 2025 season. With the Blue Jays and Dodgers tied in Game 3 of the World Series, Lauer pitched four and two-thirds scoreless innings in extra innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two. While he walked four batters, three of those walks were intentional. Had the Blue Jays found a way to win Game 3, people would remember Lauer’s outing instead of Will Klein
We’ll see if another team takes a flier on him, if he’ll be traded, or if he’ll be released in the coming days.
