Eric Lauer Might Be His Own Worst Enemy

In Eric Lauer's mind, he isn't just stretching out as a starter this spring. He's fighting for a role in Toronto's Opening Day rotation. 

Speaking to members of the media after he started the Blue Jays' first Grapefruit League game on Saturday, Lauer made it clear that he doesn't see himself as the team's sixth (or seventh) starter. 

“The goal, and the thought, is that I’m going to start this year,” he told Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star.

Of course, he knows it's not just up to him. But he sees a rotation job as his to lose, not his to win.

"As of now, I’m a starter, and that’s where I plan on staying."

Despite his admirable confidence, it's hard not to see Lauer as the odd man out of a crowded picture. When the news broke that Shane Bieber would start the season on the IL, it seemed like Toronto's rotation was set: Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and José Berríos.

With that said, it's not hard to imagine a world in which Lauer looks like one of the team's five best starting options by the end of camp. John Schneider isn't ruling out the possibility.

"He's going into this saying 'I want to be one of the starters'," the skipper told reporters, including Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "If that's the case, that's the case."

Barring injury, Gausman and Cease are 1A and 1B. There's nothing that could happen this spring to kick them out of the rotation.

Yesavage, Ponce, and Berríos, on the other hand, all have questions to answer.

In terms of upside, each has more to offer than Lauer. Yesavage is a top prospect who has already proven he can dominate on the game's highest stage. Ponce is the reigning KBO MVP. Berríos is a two-time All-Star and a 10-year MLB veteran. Yet, Yesavage is also a 22-year-old rookie with one year of professional experience. Ponce flamed out in his first go-around in MLB. Berríos pitched himself out of the rotation just last September. None of these guys is a sure thing. 

If any or all of Yesavage, Ponce, and Berríos give their coaches reason to worry this spring, and if Lauer dominates the Grapefruit League, why shouldn't the Jays let Lauer start? This is a team that wants every advantage, big or small. It's a team that wants its best pitchers throwing as many innings as possible. If Lauer looks like one of Toronto's five best starters, he belongs in the rotation, especially since he'd add a lefty to an otherwise all-righty mix.

Well, sure, in a vacuum.

The problem is that Lauer's own success in 2025 could work against him. 

The Blue Jays know they'll need more than five starters to make it through the season. That's why they have seven on the roster right now, and it's why they've reportedly kept in touch with Max Scherzer. In other words, they know Lauer will get a chance to start eventually, even if he opens the year in the bullpen. 

They also know that Lauer is capable of making that transition. He was incredibly valuable last year moving back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Not everyone can handle that shift so smoothly. 

There's no way Yesavage pitches in relief, at least not at the beginning of the year. The Jays would be fools to mess with his development like that. Unless they want him to open the season at Triple-A, he'll be on the starting staff.

Ponce or Berríos could move to the 'pen, but Ponce is already handling a difficult transition. He'll have to re-adjust to MLB competition (and MLB baseballs) after four years in NPB and the KBO. As for Berríos, his lone bullpen outing last September was his first since another lone September outing in 2017. Before that, he hadn't pitched from the 'pen since 2012, when he made a handful of relief appearances for the Gulf Coast League Twins at 18 years old.

What I'm trying to say is that it's more likely Berríos and Ponce would struggle in a swingman role. They just haven't proven they could handle it. The fact that Lauer thrived as a swingman in 2025 could be precisely what keeps him from earning the starting job he wants so badly. It might not be fair, but that won't matter if it's what's best for the team. Such is baseball. 

So far, Schneider has confirmed next to nothing about his starting rotation. Lauer's hopes are still very much alive. At the same time, the manager has repeatedly emphasized that the Blue Jays signed Ponce to be a starter.

"The expectation is pitching as a starting pitcher in the rotation,” Schneider said Wednesday, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. “That’s why we sought him out."

Meanwhile, Schneider's latest comments about Berríos were laudatory. 

"José is fully healthy. He's looked sharp," said Schneider, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "His stuff is back to where it was probably two years ago in terms of velocity and his breaking ball."

Berríos recently revealed he was pitching through discomfort throughout last year. He's finally feeling healthy again.

As for Yesavage, Schneider has been clear that the Jays will monitor his workload. However, there's been no indication they would keep him off the Opening Day roster. On the contrary, the skipper told Matheson, "We don’t want to pigeonhole it and say that we’re going to cut five or six starts off his season...If he’s feeling great, then great."

So, even though Lauer has a confident air about him, he understands things might not go his way. The lefty told Chisholm he was frustrated with the situation, suggesting he had been promised a role in the starting rotation before the offseason. 

He'll be even more frustrated if he does everything he can to win the job this spring and still misses out. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that's exactly what happens. For all the reasons Lauer succeeded in 2025, he could miss out on the role he's seeking in 2026.