Blue Jays DFA Eric Lauer After 1-5 Start, 6.69 ERA — Eric Lauer Blue Jays Dfa
Eric Lauer Blue Jays Dfa hit Monday when Toronto designated the left-hander for assignment after a 1-5 start and a 6.69 ERA. The move came while the Blue Jays were already working through three starters on the injured list, so the roster shift removed another arm from a staff that had been juggling roles.
John Schneider said the decision came down to production. “It just felt like we needed to go in a different direction, that was it,” the manager said after Lauer’s DFA. Toronto had kept using the 30-year-old as both a starter and a reliever, but the results never settled into something the club could trust.
Sunday at Los Angeles
Lauer’s last outing as a Blue Jay came Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels, when he worked in a bulk role after two openers. He allowed three home runs in five innings and took the 6-1 loss, a rough finish for a pitcher who had once been part of Toronto’s rotation cover last season.
That earlier stretch included nine wins for the Blue Jays during a pitching crunch. This year went differently. Lauer complained earlier about losing his salary arbitration case, and last month he said he “hated” the concept of being used as an opener. Schneider later said, “He was just a little unaware of how it was going to be perceived.”
Schneider and Lauer
The split also carried the weight of how Toronto handled his role. Schneider said of the final conversation Monday, “It was tough.” He added, “I don’t know if maybe he was caught off-guard a little bit.”
He also said Lauer handled the moment professionally: “He was professional about it.” Schneider said there was “no yelling or screaming or anything,” and added, “It wasn’t like ‘great, get me out of here’ either.” The manager had earlier told him, “You pitch, I decide.”
Rodriguez Returns
Toronto’s response came Monday night when Yariel Rodriguez returned from Triple-A Buffalo and walked the first Rays batter he faced on four pitches at Rogers Centre. That move gives the Blue Jays another live arm, while Lauer’s exit leaves them short one more option in a staff already strained by injuries and constant rotation turnover.
Schneider said, “Hopefully he can get back to the stuff where it was last year.” If Lauer does not return to Toronto, the team will move on with a thinner pitching picture and a rotation that still has to hold together without three starters available.
