Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider explained why the team cut Eric Lauer as part of the squad’s latest roster-shuffling moves.
Lauer was DFA’d by the Blue Jays on Monday as the team recalled relief pitcher Yariel Rodriguez from Triple-A Buffalo. The team also put third baseman/outfielder Addison Barger on the IL due to elbow inflammation and called up outfielder Yohendrick Pinango from Buffalo, as well.
John Schneider Explains Why the Blue Jays Cut Eric Lauer
Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday’s home game in Toronto against the Tampa Bay Rays, Schneider explained why the Blue Jays let go of Lauer.
According to Schneider, it was simply performance-related, as Lauer was 1-5 for the Blue Jays with an ugly 6.69 ERA and -0.5 bWAR in 8 games pitched. Lauer also butted heads with Schneider about using an opener for some of his starts, and he was also upset that the team beat him in arbitration over the winter.
Given that Lauer was great for the Blue Jays last year, going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 104.2 IP with a 2.2 bWAR, plus a strong playoff performance, it was very disappointing to see him regress so much this season. The Blue Jays tried to give him as much rope as they could, but in the end, he just didn’t pitch well enough, and the team decided to cut ties with him.
“John Schneider said decision to DFA Eric Lauer driven by ‘results’ and added it was a ‘tough conversation based on what he did last year.’ Ultimately, Blue Jays ‘felt we needed to go in a different direction,’” Blue Jays reporter Shi Davidi wrote on X.
Where Will Eric Lauer End Up Next?
Although Lauer had a bad year for the Blue Jays, he was excellent for the team last season in a swingman role, and he’s cheap enough at $4.4 million that another team might decide to take a bite on him.
Since the Blue Jays DFA’d him, Lauer will be placed on waivers, and the Blue Jays could find a way to work out a minor trade for him. He likely doesn’t have much, if any, trade value, but perhaps if the team paid down the remainder of his contract, another team would send the Blue Jays a lottery ticket in return.
If no other team wants to claim him on waivers, the Blue Jays may simply release Lauer, as he’s extremely unlikely to accept an assignment to Triple-A. As a veteran with enough service time to reject a minor-league assignment, Lauer would still get paid in the event the Blue Jays release him. But again, they are likely hoping another team wants him during his DFA limbo, and they can get a minor asset in return for him.
As poorly as Lauer pitched this year, he is still on a relatively cheap contract for a swingman, so teams that need a backend pitcher will likely be interested in taking a flier on him, particularly if the Blue Jays pay down the majority of the remainder of his contract. Look for the Blue Jays to work the phones over the next couple of days and try to find a taker for him. Otherwise, he’ll likely be released. Either way, his time as a Blue Jay is done.
John Schneider Explains Why Blue Jays Cut Eric Lauer