Starting pitcher Eric Lauer has elected minor league free agency, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. That was the anticipated outcome when Milwaukee sent the left-hander outright from the 40-man roster last week.
Lauer pitched four seasons in Milwaukee. The Brewers acquired the former first-round draftee alongside Luis Urías in a 2019-20 offseason deal that sent Trent Grisham and Zach Davies to the Padres. He was a non-factor during the shortened season but rebounded with consecutive solid years in 2021 and ’22. Lauer combined for a 3.47 ERA with a slightly above-average 23.8% strikeout percentage in 277 1/3 innings over that stretch.
The 28-year-old didn’t replicate anything near that kind of production this past season. He struggled to a 5.48 ERA in his first nine outings. An impingement in his non-throwing shoulder sent him to the injured list in late May. While he returned within a few weeks, the Brewers had decided not to keep him on the big league staff. They optioned him to Triple-A upon his reinstatement from the IL.
Lauer started nine of 12 appearances at Triple-A Nashville, posting a 5.15 ERA in 43 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He punched out a strong 31.1% of minor league opponents while walking over 11% of batters faced. He didn’t get another MLB look until the final weekend, when the Brewers had already clinched the NL Central and were keeping their top starters in reserve for the playoffs. Lauer was tagged for eight runs on nine hits (including three homers) in four innings against the Cubs in what turned out to be his final start with Milwaukee.
The Kent State product has between four and five years of major league service. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $5.2MM arbitration salary, which no team was prepared to offer. Now that he’s a free agent, Lauer will at least draw minor league interest and may well find a low-cost MLB deal.
He’s only a season removed from looking like a viable #3/4 starter, although this year’s rough production came in tandem with a drop in velocity. His four-seam fastball averaged 90.8 MPH during his major league work, more than two ticks below last summer’s 93.3 MPH average. He lost three MPH on both his cutter and curveball. As the season was winding down, Lauer told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’d battled inflammation in his throwing elbow and shoulder in addition to the right shoulder injury, contributing to the Brewers keeping him out of minor league action between June 12 and July 28.
See you in Kansas City, big fella!
I’m thinking Tampa Bay or LAD reworks him into a solid ML starter.
Pads get him back lol
Hard to believe the Brewers wouldn’t have been able to get something for him in a trade with the dearth of starting pitching in the league. He’s not a star, but he is a healthy arm that seems like he would have been worth giving up a AA prospect or something.
When he was removed from the 40 man, every team had the chance to claim him and nobody did. That right there should tell you nothing was available via trade. Like the article said, likely nobody wanted to pay the 5.2 million price tag. Odds are he gets a minors deal with incentive for time in the big league
He’s gonna get paid ! Every team passed bc no one is gonna commit 5 mil in October. But once some of these teams miss out on several top arms – lauer will come back into the picture and that 5 mil price tag will be stomached.
Cleveland seems a likely possibility.
Tampa turns him back into a star
2021: Rangers have 60 wins and Diamondbacks have 52 wins.
2022: Rangers have 68 wins and Diamondbacks have 74 wins
2021-2022 average: Rangers have 64 wins and Diamondbacks have 63 wins
2023: Rangers (tied for 7th best regular season record) versus Diamondbacks (12th best regular season record) n the World Series
Different ways to build teams, but what a difference two years makes
DBacks fleeced a team in a trade that helped catapult them to the World Series. Tip of the old cap to them.
Who, Marlins ?
Blue Jays. Moreno and Gurriel for Varsho.
War is relevant if u get a large enough sample size. Team war however is the dumbest metric in all of baseball !
Thank you for making that point !!
He does well against the Dodgers for whatever reason. I could see the Padres going for a reunion.
Craig Breslow’s first FA signing for Boston right here!
Uh, I hope not. But it will be interesting to see what/how many Job Lot players Breslow grabs during the winter.
Tigers should take a flier and let Chris Fetter fix him. They will need an arm or two to soak up innings with all the injuries the last two years.
Is Lauer the new Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Rich Hill for the Pirates to straighten out?
Kinda fits the mold. Soft tossing Lefties love PNC Park.
Lauer is young, left-handed and inexpensive. He won’t have any problem getting a job, especially with Round 1 pedigree on his resume.
Besides, don’t lefties typically take longer to get their groove on? Yankees could use him. Could be a solid #4 or #5 starter for them.
Lefties are known for control issues, especially early on. There was some guy named Johnson that Seattle people were saying could never consistently throw strikes at one point. He turned out all right.
Wandy Peralta is another guy that comes to mind. Terrible when he came up with walks and giving up dingers. Now considered a good reliever.
Some guy named Koufax also qualifies.
Wow. He’s coming home to Cleveland!
If he can regain the lost velo plenty of teams should be willing to give him a major league deal. The shoulder and elbow inflammation in his throwing arm along with the drop in velo usually means surgery coming
I could see the Padres sign him and get an invite to Spring Training. The Padres need some rotation help/depth.