Spencer Miles just showed why he should move ahead of Eric Lauer on the Blue Jays' depth chart

The Toronto Blue Jays have already tinkered with one role change this season, so why not another to see what happens. The results can't get any worse than what we all witnessed on Sunday (May 10), can it? That's when the Blue Jays decided to use Spencer Miles as the opener for their game against the LA Angels, before bringing in Eric Lauer as a bulk reliever in the fifth, with Tommy Nance throwing an inning in between.

The first part of the plan worked to perfection as Miles was magnificent over three innings. He allowed just two hits, while getting two strikeouts over three innings, without walking a hitter. He threw 38 effective pitches, which included a three-pitch strikeout of future Hall of Famer Mike Trout in the first inning.

The Blue Jays, whose offence was being effectively shut down by José Soriano, were clinging on to a 1-0 lead, that promptly turned into a 4-1 deficit after Lauer entered in the top of the fifth. Lauer gave up a leadoff walk, followed by a two-run home run. He ended his day with five innings pitched, five hits, six earned runs, three home runs allowed, two walks and four strikeouts.

It feels right now like the Blue Jays are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to using Lauer. While the team absolutely needs to hit more consistently, it felt like the game was effectively over after Lauer gave up those four runs. While he shouldn't shoulder the entire blame for this loss, there are players around him that are showing better in their opportunities. Just like the Blue Jays pulled the trigger on their position shuffle at the back of the bullpen, they may need to make a similar shuffle with the number five starters role.

Lauer may have run out of rope with his hold on the number five spot in the Blue Jays rotation.

A few weeks ago, the Blue Jays decided to take Jeff Hoffman out of the closers role and move to a "closer by committee" process. The committee has consisted of Louis Varland being used in the ninth inning six times in his last eight games, picking up saves in five of those outings. Meanwhile, Hoffman has responded by allowing just two earned runs over his last 6.1 innings pitched, getting seven strikeouts, and five holds. He's appeared in the ninth inning just once, while being used in the seventh three times and eighth three times.

The Blue Jays would love to get similar results out of another roster shuffle should they choose to go that route. Miles has already said publicly he's fine being in the bullpen, and he's fine being used as an opener. He was originally drafted as a starter by the San Francisco Giants, but injuries derailed several development years and so the Blue Jays are absolutely in their right to being a little more cautious about his usagae.

Prior to Sunday's game, Miles had appeared in 18 innings through his first 11 appearances of his big league career and pitched to a respectable 3.50 ERA, getting 16 strikeouts and walking five. He also had seven of those appearances result in throwing more than one inning. For the time being, his results have looked much better than Lauer's. While Lauer has battled through a sickness this season, he also has had trouble in the first inning of a game. He also hasn't been effective against left-handed pitchers, and he's been very vocal about not enjoying pitching behind an "opener"

There is no solid solution at this point, although the Blue Jays may be forcing the issue by calling up Yariel Rodriguez. Rodriguez was essentially in the same role as Miles' was last year, before he became ineffective in the second half, was left off the World Series roster, and was DFA'd by the Blue Jays in the offseason. But he's had a terrific start to the 2026 campaign with Triple-A Buffalo as he has posted a 2.63 ERA with 25 strikeouts over 13.2 innings.

It's getting to the point where the Blue Jays just need to have guys that can be effective at the MLB level and right now that isn't Lauer.

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