Moving Lauer to bullpen a tough but right call for Blue Jays

The announcement of Eric Lauer's availability out of the Blue Jays bullpen this weekend may have come as a surprise, but the move should be seen as a strategic — and hopefully temporary — one.

The 30-year-old lefty has been a reliable starter for the Blue Jays up to this point in the season. His 2.76 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 88 innings and 20 games (14 starts) has been a bright spot in a Toronto rotation that has struggled at times this year. Blue Jay starters have pitched to a 4.34 ERA (20th in the majors), driven largely by the rotation's inability to keep the ball in the park (114 home runs allowed, second worst in MLB).

Moving Lauer to bullpen a tough but right call for Blue Jays

As effective as Lauer has been, manager John Schneider still made the announcement Wednesday. He made it clear that Lauer's move was a temporary one, and part of a "fluid" plan that could change as soon as next week.

The decision was born out of the Blue Jays' July acquisition of Shane Bieber, a Cy Young Award-winner recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bieber excelled in his last few rehab starts and is slated to make his first Blue Jays start Friday in Miami. The Blue Jays are in Miami this weekend to face the Marlins.

So with Bieber joining Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer, the question was whether the Blue Jays would go with a six-man rotation or move someone into the bullpen. Both choices come with some benefits, although there is some question how beneficial a six-man rotation really is.

A six-man rotation would give Blue Jay starters an extra day of rest for each turn. That's something that would be valuable for any rotation, especially one where all of the starters are over 30 years of age like Toronto's. But with five-and-a-half weeks remaining in the 2025 season, Toronto has five off days. Extra rest might not be a need outside of a 13-games-in-13-days stretch from Sept. 9 through Sept. 21. Lauer might make a start or two during that stretch, which includes a six-game homestand and seven-game road trip.

Another reason the bullpen should be seen as a positive would be Lauer's performance. He started the year in Triple A and was called up to the Jays bullpen in April. In his 140 career MLB games, Lauer has made 14 relief appearances, six of which have come this season. In those appearances, Lauer has posted a 2.81 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 48 strikeouts over 41.2 innings.

No one is going to put Bieber, Scherzer or Gausman in the bullpen, given their established success in the majors. Berrios hasn't pitched out of the bullpen since 2017. Bassitt might be able to make the move to reliever, as he has a 2.51 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 33 strikeouts over 28.2 innings in 14 career relief appearances. Bassitt has only made one relief appearance (which came this season before the All-Star Break) since 2019, however.

The bullpen could certainly use the help. Blue Jays relievers have pitched to a 4.04 ERA this season, 18th best in the majors, but have struggled somewhat in August. Toronto has a 4.95 bullpen ERA for the month, which is just 24th in the majors.

There are still some key pieces of the bullpen like Yimi Garcia and Nick Sandlin making their way back from injury. So any arm that can give you multiple innings and consistently get guys out would be a welcomed addition. And Lauer has done both of those things.

Lauer has pitched in some high-leverage situations too. He bounced between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros organizations in 2024, before joining the Kia Tigers of the KBO League in Korea. Lauer made seven starts and posted a 4.93 ERA for the Tigers, then made a start in Kia's five-game victory in the KBO championship, the Korea Series. Big-game experience like that will probably help Lauer when he takes the mound, regardless if it's a start or relief appearance.

Schneider went out of his way to say Lauer wasn't getting bumped to the bullpen and things may change quickly. While the details of the rotation order may not be clear yet, what is clear is that there is a plan the Blue Jays are following.