Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Come to Terms with Former Milwaukee Brewers Lefty Eric Lauer

The 29-year-old appeared in 19 minor league games last year and seven games in Korea, but he does have extensive major league experience.

Brady Farkas

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer (52) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in 2023.
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer (52) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in 2023. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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The Toronto Blue Jays came to terms with former Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer on Friday afternoon.

The report came from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com on social media. The deal is as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

The 29-year-old Ohio native did not appear in a major league game in 2024 season, pitching in 19 games in the minor leagues and seven more in Korea. He spent eight games with the Pirates' Triple-A Affiliate and 11 more with the Astros. He had a 6.09 ERA in the minors and a 4.93 in the KBO.

Lauer last appeared in 10 games for the Brewers in the 2023 season, making nine starts. He slumped to a 4-6 record that season with a 6.56 ERA over 46.2 innings. He's pitched in parts of six major league seasons with the Brewers and Padres, having been a valued rotation member most prior years of his career. He made 20 starts or more in each full season from 2018-2022. He made 29 starts for the Brewers in '22 and has tossed more than 140 innings twice in his career.

He owns a lifetime 4.30 ERA over major league 120 games.

With the Blue Jays, it's unknown what kind of opportunity he could get. The Jays already have five starters right now (Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Yariel Rodriguez and Bowden Francis) and they are said to be finalists for former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, who is the most coveted pitcher on the free agent market this year.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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