4 teams that could benefit from taking a flier on Eric Lauer after Pirates grant his release

The Pittsburgh Pirates gave Eric Lauer a minor league deal to add some valuable depth to their organization. While they're only 19-25 on the season, their starting rotation has been quite good thanks in large part to pitchers like Mitch Keller and Jared Jones. The Pirates having no need in the rotation meant that Lauer was languishing in Triple-A, and that led to the team granting his release.

The southpaw struggled in Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 5.52 ERA in eight appearances (six starts), but he's had MLB success. In 2022, he posted a 3.69 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers and made 29 starts for them. He looked like a future piece of their rotation before a brutal 2023 campaign ended his tenure in Milwaukee.

It didn't work out with the Pirates, but with many teams needing starting pitching depth, Lauer could land on his feet rather quickly in a new organization. Any of these four makes the most sense.

4. The Blue Jays could really use Eric Lauer for rotation depth

Seeing the Toronto Blue Jays on a list like this might be surprising, but let's dive a bit deeper.

Yes, their starting rotation is as elite as it gets in the American League, but the depth is very subpar. Their lack of depth is why they had to promote Alek Manoah even when he was struggling mightily in AAA.

Both Yariel Rodriguez and Bowden Francis are injured. The only starting pitcher that they have on their 40-man roster in AAA is Paolo Espino who hasn't pitched very well in the minors this season and doesn't have much success in his MLB career either.

Lauer wouldn't be plugged into their rotation now, especially with how well Manoah pitched his last time out, but they lack depth. I mean, they just signed Aaron Sanchez for that exact reason. Signing Lauer gives them another option to turn to if they suffer another pitching injury or if Manoah's bounce-back outing turns out to be more of a fluke.

3. The Athletics have a newfound need for a starting pitcher

The Oakland Athletics have had a surprisingly somewhat decent start to their 2024 season. They won just 50 games all of last season, so seeing them win 19 of their first 45 this season is honestly refreshing.

The A's have gotten decent work from their bullpen and lineup, but their rotation remains a mess. Their 4.89 starting pitcher ERA ranks 27th in the majors, which is not where they want to be. To make matters worse, they just placed Paul Blackburn and Alex Wood, arguably their two best starters, on the IL within the last week.

Expectations are low in Oakland, but for them to stay somewhat relevant they'd benefit from signing a guy like Lauer who has proven he can pitch at this level just a couple of years ago. If he performs well, they have themselves a nice piece to move at the deadline. If he doesn't, he wouldn't have cost them much of anything to sign and isn't replacing anyone as they're dealing with several starting pitching injuries. Feels like a win-win.

2. The Rangers should try to sign Eric Lauer

No team other than maybe the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox has been more snakebitten when it comes to starting pitcher injuries than the Texas Rangers. Right now, Texas has Jacob deGrom, Cody Bradford, Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, and Dane Dunning on the IL. Some of those guys were expected to miss a good portion of the year, but most were not.

With so many injuries taking place, the Rangers have had to rely heavily on guys like Jon Gray, Michael Lorenzen, and Andrew Heaney in their rotation. While their rotation has been much better than expected given the circumstances, they need another arm desperately.

The Rangers have had to start Jack Leiter on three separate occasions and all three have gone extremely poorly. Taking this gamble with Lauer until they get healthier at the very least gives them a better chance than turning back to Leiter or someone else who is not cut out for it.

1. The Padres could give Eric Lauer a second chance in San Diego

Lauer began his career with the San Diego Padres, spending two seasons with the team before getting traded to the Brewers ahead of the 2020 campaign. He wasn't as good with the Padres as he was with the Brewers, but pitched like a serviceable fifth starter, which is exactly what the Padres need right now.

The Padres have been outstanding when one of Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish, or Michael King takes the ball, but have no clear-cut fifth starter. Both Matt Waldron and Randy Vasquez have struggled mightily. Their lack of depth is even more glaring with Musgrove currently on the IL.

Lauer would be a low-cost addition and couldn't be much worse than Waldron and Vasquez. The Padres are under .500 currently because of their putrid rotation depth. If Lauer works out, great. If not, he can't be worse than what they have.