Eric Lauer’s offseason has two very different headlines attached to it.
On the baseball side, the former Dodgers left-hander is still a free agent after a strong stretch with Los Angeles gave him a chance to rebuild his value. On the family side, Lauer and his wife, Emily, just added another child to the mix on October 20.
“Officially a family of four! 10/20/2026 Kacen Boone Lauer,” Lauer wrote in an Instagram post.
That announcement landed just weeks after he joined the Dodgers. Three weeks into his time with the club, Lauer and Emily said they were expecting Kacen. Around the same time, he was turning in some of the most effective work of his career, helping power Dodgers wins with a steady, contact-heavy style.
The baseball turnaround was a big one. Lauer opened the 2026 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, but things went sideways fast.
He posted a 6.69 ERA across eight appearances after putting up a 3.18 ERA over 28 appearances the year before. Frustration followed as his role bounced around and he was used as a reliever instead of a starter, and Toronto eventually designated him for assignment.
Los Angeles needed pitching, and Lauer gave them exactly that: an experienced lefty capable of taking the ball and absorbing innings.
The fit worked. With the Dodgers, he finished the season at 4.50 ERA with a 7-2 record, and both sides found a way to keep moving forward.
Now he heads into free agency in a market that should help him. Teams looking for a veteran left-hander won’t find many clear alternatives, and Lauer should be positioned for a notable raise from the $4.4 million he made in his last year of arbitration.
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Dodgers Already Found Miguel Rojas A New Role That Matters
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His new role matters because he is already helping Dodgers prospects, including Charles Davalan as he transitions to a new defensive position. Rojas also stayed visible around the game after his playing days, serving as a Spanish-language correspondent for MLB during the World Series, and the Dodgers appear to have found a meaningful way to keep his experience in the building. [Read more 🡒]