{"id":735346,"date":"2026-06-25T16:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/735346\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:48:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:48:24","slug":"blue-jays-castoff-reveals-how-dodgers-immediately-got-him-back-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/735346\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Castoff Reveals How Dodgers Immediately Got Him Back on Track"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Lauer has played for six different organizations in the last decade. He’s spent barely a month with the Los Angeles Dodgers, having been acquired for cash on May 17 from the Toronto Blue Jays <\/a>and activated two days later.<\/p>\n

Lauer, 31, has also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres organizations since he was drafted out of Kent State in 2016.<\/p>\n

Of all the teams he’s played for, the Dodgers figured him out the quickest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had a really hard time explaining myself and what I do, because I think a little differently,\u201d Lauer said to the Los Angeles Times<\/a>. \u201cWhen I was with the Brewers, it was running joke that it was \u2018the language of Lauer,\u2019 because I would describe things so differently and feel things so differently that, if you weren\u2019t close to me and you didn\u2019t know how I operate, it was very hard to understand what I was trying to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor [McGuiness, the Dodgers’ assistant pitching coach], just immediately got it. It was like he\u2019s been speaking it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe it helps that McGuiness and Lauer both throw left-handed. Regardless of the reason, the results are undeniable. <\/p>\n

In five games with the Dodgers, Lauer has averaged 5.2 innings while going 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA. When he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in May, he was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA, and averaging fewer than 4.2 innings per appearance.<\/p>\n

For a Dodgers rotation that has been without right-hander Tyler Glasnow<\/a> and left-hander Blake Snell<\/a> since Lauer arrived, it’s a good thing nothing was lost in translation.<\/p>\n

Monday in Minnesota, Lauer tossed six scoreless innings after relieving opener Will Klein in the second inning. The Dodgers beat the Twins, 2-1.<\/p>\n

Lauer hadn’t come in behind an opener with the Dodgers before Monday, but he and manager Dave Roberts discussed the plan in advance. Lauer was outspoken about not liking the use of an opener<\/a> during his time in Toronto earlier this year.<\/p>\n

“Being upfront and knowing what the plan is, is really big,” Lauer told reporters after Monday’s game.<\/p>\n

“Felt a lot better about today.”<\/p>\n

Eric Lauer (W (3-5), 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 84 P) talks to the media after the #Dodgers<\/a> defeat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1. pic.twitter.com\/M55RdsF0Lb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Lauer told the Times that the Dodgers\u2019 communication is \u201cmiles ahead\u201d of that in any of his previous five organizations.<\/p>\n

From 2018-23, Lauer was 36-37 with a 4.30 ERA (95 ERA+) with the Padres and Brewers. He split the 2024 season between the Astros and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates, and even briefly pitched in Korea.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Lauer looks likely to finish the season in the Dodgers’ rotation or bullpen \u2014\u00a0a role he filled last October for the Blue Jays, including in two World Series games against the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

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