Eric Lauer has become the kind of inconvenient reminder Blue Jays fans didn’t need.
Toronto has already spent this season dealing with injuries, underperformance and a World Series hangover, and now one of last year’s familiar faces is dealing from the other coast. Lauer, who flashed enough promise in Canada before things unraveled in 2026, has found a far better rhythm with the Dodgers.
“Definitely feels good to feel like myself again... I go out there confident, feeling good, feeling prepared every time. To see the success follow has been really good.”
That was Lauer after the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Mariners on July 30, when he logged six scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out four. It was more of the same for a pitcher who has been sharp in Los Angeles: a 2.96 ERA and 0.987 WHIP across nine appearances, eight of them starts.
For Blue Jays fans, the contrast is hard to ignore. Lauer’s first half in Toronto featured a rough 6.69 ERA and 1.486 WHIP.
He also gave up 11 home runs in just 36.1 innings after surrendering 15 the year before. Then he left, and suddenly the results turned.
The Dodgers have benefited from that surge at a time when they’re still waiting on Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell to return. Shohei Ohtani also hasn’t thrown a pitch from the mound since the start of July. Even with those absences, Los Angeles keeps rolling with a double-digit lead in the NL West, and Lauer has been part of the reason why.
That kind of turnaround isn’t exactly unheard of in Dodger blue. Max Muncy and Evan Phillips both found new life after being let go by previous teams, and Lauer now fits that familiar pattern.
But it isn’t just the pitching that may have rubbed Toronto the wrong way.
Lauer also drew attention for his frustration with the Blue Jays’ use of him behind an opener. He was openly unhappy with the setup, and that tension spilled into his arbitration process and his absence from the season-opening rotation.
“Eric Lauer on following an opener:
“To be real blunt, I hate it. I can’t stand it…”
Lauer said that it messes with his pre-game routine, as starters are “creatures of habit.”
“Hopefully it’s not something that we will continue doing, but that’s above my pay grade.” #BlueJays”
He later put it this way: “You can make it work the best you can. Hopefully, it's not something that we will continue doing, but that's above my pay grade,”
Even so, that public friction is not likely to scare off future free agents. Toronto still carries the kind of reputation players want, and José Berrios’ own public complaints about a bullpen move last season didn’t seem to leave lasting damage.
In the end, the breakup probably made sense for both sides. Lauer even filled the opener role once for the Dodgers, in a June 22 win over the Twins, showing that the very job he disliked in Toronto can still have a place when handled differently.
The Blue Jays have mostly held up in the rotation through a difficult season, but more changes could be coming before the deadline and into next year. Lauer may not have been a long-term answer in Toronto. That doesn’t make it any easier to watch him thrive for a team that already seems to have everything figured out.
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The return gives Toronto a pair of young pieces to work with in outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene, a sign the front office is balancing present needs against future value. For a club trying to thread that needle in a deadline market that rewards urgency, this is the kind of decision that can look smart in one light and hard to stomach in another, depending on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]