Former Padres First-Round Pick Opts Out of Contract, Becomes a Free Agent

Noah Camras | May 16, 2024

A former San Diego Padres first-round pick is heading back to free agency.

On Thursday, left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer exercised the opt-out in his contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates to hit free agency, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Lauer, 28, signed with the Pirates in March, and has struggled at the Triple-A level. In eight games (six starts), Lauer went 2-2 with a 5.52 ERA and 37 strikeouts.

Lauer will now head back to free agency, where he'll hope to find his next home.

His first home at the MLB level was in San Diego, after he was drafted by the Padres in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

Lauer debuted with the Padres in 2018, and was a full-time starter in both 2018 and 2019. He made 52 starts across the two seasons in San Diego, sporting a 4.40 ERA.

The Padres then traded Lauer in 2019 as a part of a multi-player swap that brought outfielder Trent Grisham and right-handed pitcher Zach Davies to San Diego for Lauer and infielder Luis Urías.

Lauer was hurt for most of 2022, but burst onto the scene in 2021 and 2022 for Milwaukee as a key piece of the rotation. In 2021, Lauer had a 3.19 ERA in 118.1 innings. In 2022, he had a 3.69 ERA in 158.2 innings.

Unfortunately, it all came crashing down for Lauer in 2023, as he had a 6.56 ERA across 46.2 innings with the Brewers. He then had a quiet free agent market, and wasn't able to make things work in Pittsburgh at the minor league level.

Lauer will now look for his next team. He's still just 28 years old, so he has plenty of time to get back to his old form.