The Toronto Blue Jays currently lead the American League East by 4.5 games over the New York Yankees, who have overtaken the Boston Red Sox for second place in the division. The Blue Jays are 74-54, which is good for the second-best record in the Junior Circuit. They were active at the trade deadline and were able to bring in right-hander Shane Bieber in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians.
Bieber has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and he will make his season debut for the Blue Jays on Friday when they take on the Miami Marlins. However, to make room for him in the starting rotation, they have moved Eric Lauer to the bullpen, despite the fact that pitchers such as Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios have been struggling as of late. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com had the news on X.
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Blue Jays make indefensible decision with Eric Lauer
Lauer is 8-2 in 14 starts and six relief appearances with a 2.76 ERA. Perhaps the Blue Jays are thinking that since he has pitched in relief this year, it makes sense to move Lauer back to the bullpen.
There is some logic in that, but given that Lauer has pitched as well as he has lately, it's hard to defend taking him out of the rotation. Berrios has a 5.56 ERA in his last seven starts, while Bassitt has a 4.18 ERA on the season.
At the very least, the Blue Jays could go with a six-man rotation for a short period of time until they figure things out, but it's hard to understand why Lauer has been taken out of the rotation. He hasn't done anything to deserve a demotion to the bullpen, so pulling him out of the rotation now makes little to no sense.
Perhaps the Blue Jays will change their minds if the struggles of both Bassitt and Berrios continue. But there are plenty of other options they could choose from to accommodate Bieber being inserted into the rotation for the first time this year.
Instead, they have made the most puzzling move possible, and will instead continue to use their struggling starters in their current roles while keeping Lauer in the bullpen despite some very strong numbers this year. It will be interesting to see if this move pans out for the Blue Jays or if they ultimately come to regret it in the future.