The Toronto Blue Jays have added even more star talent to their roster after last year’s World Series, but the group of role players will continue to be an important strength.
Even after losing star shortstop Bo Bichette to a new contract from the New York Mets, the Blue Jays will be led by prominent players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Dylan Cease.
But as the team battled the Los Angeles Dodgers all the way into extra innings of Game 7 of the Fall Classic, it seemed that their role player group was a standout strength.
Less famous players like Ernie Clement, Alejandro Kirk and Trey Yesavage were central to the team’s Cinderella playoff run.
Toronto Blue Jays’ Pitcher Breaks Silence On Arbitration Loss
And one of those unsung heroes seems to feel like his willingness to put the team first has cost him some money.
“The whole bouncing back and forth thing last year kind of hurt me in the long run, not physically, but, you know, my standing,” Eric Lauer, who reportedly filed for $5.75 million and was awarded $4.4 million in an arbitration hearing with the team, said Saturday, according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.“The fact that I ended last year in the bullpen was probably what lost me my (arbitration) case.”
Toronto Blue Jays’ ‘Unsung’ Hero Eric Lauer Expects To Start
Lauer, who earned $2.2 million last year, pitched 104 innings with a 3.18 ERA and played a key swing role for the pitching staff.
“Left-hander Eric Lauer was the poster boy of that team-first approach,” Gregor Chisholm wrote for the Toronto Star. “He started the year in Triple-A Buffalo, got an opportunity at the big-league level in late April and never looked back. The 30-year-old thrived as a starter and reliever while becoming one of the Jays’ unsung heroes.”
After making 15 starts for the Blue Jays, Lauer came out of the bullpen during the playoffs and pitched five innings with three strikeouts in the World Series. But he pointed to the perceived value of starters as a reason his role with the Blue Jays hurt his salary and could into the future.
“So I’d really like to perform and kind of do what I did last year, show that I can start and hopefully maintain starting,” Lauer added, per Bannon.
Earlier in the week, Lauer told Chisholm that he sees himself as a starter heading into the season but the rotation for the defending American League champions could be pretty crowded between Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Jose Berrios and Cody Ponce.
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