The Toronto Blue Jays were successful in their arbitration case against Eric Lauer.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports an arbitrator has granted the team’s $4.4 million contract over the lefty’s $5.75 million filing.
Eric Lauer has lost his arbitration hearing against the Blue Jays, per source. Lauer will earn $4.4 million in 2026; he had filed at $5.75 million.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 11, 2026
A native of Elyria, OH, Lauer returned to the majors with the Blue Jays in 2025 after spending a season in the KBO with the Kia Tigers. Lauer appeared in 28 games for the Jays, starting 15 of them, and posted a 9-2 mark with an earned run average of 3.18 and 1.108 WHIP over 104.2 innings pitched. He struck out 102 batters and walked 26. He made five appearances in the postseason, including two in the World Series, with 8.2 innings of work.
Originally taken by the Blue Jays in the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft out of high school, Lauer would attend Kent State and was eventually taken with the 25th overall selection of the 2016 draft by the San Diego Padres.
Prior to heading to Gwangju, Lauer made 120 appearances over six seasons with the Padres and Milwaukee Brewers.
With Shane Bieber likely to start the season on the injured list with forearm soreness and Bowden Francis lost for the season with Tommy John surgery, Lauer could factor into the Jays’ rotation plans, rather than operate out of the bullpen. The team also has Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios among its starting options.
