The Dodgers are getting healthier at exactly the right time, but that kind of good news comes with a roster problem attached. With the final month of the regular season underway, Los Angeles has so much pitching depth that someone useful is likely to get squeezed out when October arrives.
Eric Lauer appears to be one of the names most at risk.
Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the left-hander could wind up as the odd man out on the postseason roster. As Woo wrote, "On the pitching side, it’s hard to see Eric Lauer cracking the list, despite Lauer being one of the most dependable arms this season," Woo wrote. "That Lauer looks to be outside the bubble has more to do with the left-handers that have more or less stamped their ticket on the roster: Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and most likely Justin Wrobleski, with Kris Bubic potentially in the mix."
That’s the reality for a team whose rotation has been strengthened by the returns of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow from long injury recoveries. Add ace Tarik Skubal into the mix, and the Dodgers suddenly have one of the deepest starting groups in baseball.
Lauer has been a stabilizing presence through all of it. Since joining Los Angeles, he has made 13 appearances, including 11 starts, and posted a 3.78 ERA. He spent months holding down a rotation spot while others were sidelined, but that usefulness may not translate to a playoff role if the Dodgers are fully healthy.
The math gets even tighter with Roki Sasaki currently on the injured list and Shohei Ohtani expected to return to the mound at some point. Justin Wrobleski, once he comes back from injury, is also expected to be a bullpen option, which only adds to the logjam among lefties.
Los Angeles is unlikely to carry an overstuffed bullpen full of left-handers, and that could leave Lauer on the outside looking in. Still, there is at least a case for giving him a shot. Last postseason, he worked 8.2 innings for the Toronto Blue Jays and finished with a 3.12 ERA.
Lauer was also the subject of plenty of trade chatter around the deadline, but the Dodgers chose to keep him. That decision has already paid off during the injury stretch, even if his October outlook is still very much unsettled.
In Other News...
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New Padres Owner Just Added Heat To The Dodgers Rivalry
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Dodgers Just Watched A Proven Bat Land With Another Contender
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The decision fits the reality of Roberts season, which has been shaped by health issues and uneven availability even as his offensive upside remains the kind of thing contenders monitor closely. Baltimore gets the chance to see whether there is impact still to unlock, while the Dodgers are left to watch another proven bat land with a rival and wonder whether the risk was simply too steep for where they are right now. [Read more 🡒]