Ex-Jay Lauer: No ill will intended with opener comments

Former Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer told reporters earlier this week he meant no harm when he said he did not like pitching behind an opener and felt his comments from earlier in the season were blown out of proportion.

The new Los Angeles Dodgers lefty said most pitchers would agree they’d rather start than be used behind an opener.

“I think some of that, a lot of that was kind of taken out of context. There was no ill will there, there was no hurt feelings. It was a very simple question, I thought. It was like ‘How do you feel about an opener?’ And I think if you ask most starters in the league, they would probably have the same response that they don’t like it,” Lauer said earlier this week via Fredo Cervantes of The Sporting Tribune.

“But it doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to do it, it doesn’t mean that I’m not a team player. I’m not going to have a problem if there is somebody in front of me. It’s part of the game; it’s become part of the game. We’re all here to win ballgames, it’s not about any individual player. That was a lot more than I expected that to turn into.”

Lauer had a 7.82 ERA during his first three starts of the season coming into a matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 17. The Jays used right-hander Braydon Fisher as an opener in that game and Lauer pitched five innings after, going from the second to the sixth and allowing three earned runs in a 6-3 loss.

“It’s definitely different,” Lauer told reporters when asked about the opener strategy after the loss. “To be real blunt, I hate it. I can’t stand it. But you work with what you got.”

He acknowledged it also wasn’t his decision to make.

“It’s just, hopefully it’s not something that we will continue doing. But you know, that’s above my pay grade.”

A day later, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Lauer’s role was “definitely above his pay grade” and that he had spoken to the veteran lefty about keeping frustrations about his usage away from the public eye.

“Don’t tell [media]. Come tell me. So that was it, basically it was quick. I think the message was, like, you pitch, I decide,” Schneider said.

Lauer was designated for assignment earlier this month after continuing to struggle with an ERA of 6.69 on the season in eight appearances. Last year, Layer turned in a 3.18 ERA and Schneider referred to him as one of the team’s key pieces during the season on the way to the World Series.

The 30-year-old landed with the Dodgers last weekend after the Jays agreed to send north of $2.5 million to cover most of his salary.

“I think a change of scenery is good for everybody every once in a while,” Lauer said this week. “There’s a few mechanical things that I definitely want to work on, and that they’ve already kind of thrown out there as possibilities, so I think there’s a few different things that we can mess around with, try and tinker with a little bit.”

He also indicated that he’s clear on what the Dodgers expect from him regarding his role.

“It’s good to just have that clarity and that understanding of, ‘This is what we see out of you, this is where we’re going to use you, this is what we need, this is what we want,’” Lauer said via MLB.com’s Sonja Chen.

“And when it lines up with what I want and what I feel I can do the best to help the team, I think that’s a really good spot to be in.”