Eric Lauer candidly speaks on Blue Jays departure after joining Dodgers

If felt like the break up was bound to happen. The relationship between Toronto Blue Jays and Eric Lauer reached a boiling point where neither of them were happy with the current situation. Lauer didn't like the way he was being used by the team and the Blue Jays didn't enjoy the results they were seeing from the 31-year-old south paw.

Lauer essentially became a lightning rod for several of the things that were going wrong with the club through the first two months of the season. Though he couldn't control the injuries that ravaged the clubhouse, he could control how he performed when he was asked. The problem's arose when it felt like he had no control over anything he was doing on the mound, resulting in a 6.69 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) after posting a 3.18 ERA in 28 games (15 starts) last season.

The Blue Jays felt like they were left with no choice but to cut Lauer, and during his time when he was on waivers the LA Dodgers came calling and offered Toronto a package they couldn't refuse - a player to be named later, or cash. Now that he's in LA, Lauer has had some time to reflect on everything that transpired between him and the Blue Jays' over the last few months, especially his relationship with the coaching staff and manager John Schneider.

Lauer says some of his actions and words were taken out of context during his time with the Blue Jays

One key moment that stood out to everyone early in the season was when Lauer was asked about pitching after an opener. Lauer responded by saying he "hated it" but that those decisions were "above his paygrade." When Schneider was asked about that comment he responded with, "I respect everyone’s opinion. I know the end of his quote was ‘It’s above my pay grade’, and it’s definitely above his pay grade how we use him. We’re trying to win.”

Speaking with The Athletic in Los Angeles, Lauer says, "There was no ill will there, there was no hurt feelings. It was a very simple question, I thought, ‘How do you feel about an opener?’ I think if you ask most starters in the league, they would probably have the same response, that they don’t like it. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to do it. It doesn’t mean that I’m not a team player. I’m not gonna have a problem if there is somebody in front of me. It’s part of the game, it’s become part of the game, and we’re all here to win ball games.”

Lauer is set up in a position to do exactly that as he says the Dodgers have clearly laid out what his role is going to be with the club, something that seemed to change on a daily basis in Toronto. The Dodgers will ask Lauer to start until they get some guys off the Injured List including Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell.

"It’s good to just have that clarity and that understanding of, this is what we see out of you, this is where we’re going to use you, this is what we need, this is what we want,” Lauer said in his interview with The Athletic. “And when it lines up with what I want and what I feel I can do best to help the team, I think that’s a really good spot to be in.”

And perhaps that's all Lauer needed and was looking for during his time in Toronto. From signing a minor league deal, to essentially saving the Blue Jays' season in 2026, to being seldom used in the postseason, it was a roller coaster of a tenure with the Blue Jays that is now all in the rearview mirror.

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