Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer has been labeled as a trade candidate for the past week, especially as the team’s pitching staff has started to get healthy.
Lauer was terrible to start the season for the Toronto Blue Jays, just one year after having a really solid season in 2025, including a good postseason contribution.
However, his command and confidence showed cracks in Toronto to start 2026, and it led to him being designated for assignment.
The Dodgers, while he was on waivers, parted with cash considerations to get him rather than put in a claim.
Lauer entered the picture after the Dodgers were hit with blows to the starting rotation in Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. LA has maintained a six-man rotation due to Lauer stepping up for a good amount of innings.
The Dodgers need six starting pitchers to keep their rotation schedule and have their other key arms, namely Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, avoid pushing themselves in the regular season and pitch on a schedule similar to Japan.
Luckily, Lauer has been able to hold his own in the rotation for an elite team.
The southpaw has 51.2 innings for LA, putting up a great 2.96 ERA, especially stellar for a command pitcher that lacks top-tier stuff.
His WHIP has gone from 1.486 to less than 1, with less traffic on the basepaths. Additionally, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is much better, at 2.31.
Compared to his 6.69 ERA and a 1.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio with the Jays, Lauer looks like a different pitcher, something he feels as well.
However, Glasnow and Snell are coming back, and a Tarik Skubal deal could be in the works, making Lauer a tradeable piece.
Lauer has experience pitching in the bullpen, giving the Dodgers leverage in trade talks, as they could keep him, but given their pitching depth, he would be surplus to requirements.
Luckily for LA, they are already getting tangible interest in Lauer.
Who will trade for Eric Lauer?
David Vassegh, the host of Dodger Talk on AM 570, specifically mentioned the Chicago White Sox as a team that makes sense for Lauer.
“If they don’t want to give up one of their top 15 prospects, the Dodgers would try to make a deal with the White Sox. Eric Lauer goes to Chicago, and the Dodgers find a minor league top 30, somewhere between 20 and 30,” Vassegh said on Dodgers Talk.
“I’m calling my shot. If the Dodgers trade Eric Lauer, I believe it’s going to be to the Chicago White Sox.”
Vassegh is quite plugged into the Dodgers clubhouse and the MLB landscape, which led him to point out the White Sox as quite tangible, especially since they could use solid lefty pitching.
Regardless of what happens, Lauer is yet another jewel in the team’s developmental crown, taking a struggling pitcher and setting them on the right course yet again.
2 Responses
He’s definitely putting up a good fight to stay especially after last nights outing
Whether Lauer ends up staying with the Dodgers or gets traded somewhere else, that kind of performance is exactly what he needed. He’s definitely performed better since joining the Dodgers, but one hit and one walk in six shutout innings is an undeniable outing