Blue Jays annoyingly trade former Brewers stalwart directly into Milwaukee's playoff path

In the same way that the Milwaukee Brewers have a tendency to turn cast-off players from other organizations into key contributors, the Los Angeles Dodgers always seem to get the most out of players who have hit walls with other ball clubs. Whether it's trade deadline acquisitions Michael Kopech and Tommy Edman becoming key contributors during their 2024 World Series run, with the latter earning NLCS MVP honors, or veteran infielder Miguel Rojas, who was previously scuffling with the Miami Marlins, becoming a World Series hero last year, players seem to find another gear in Los Angeles.

As a result, National League contenders keep a close eye on the Dodgers' transactions, wondering which of their recently added players will go on to become their next unsung hero. Those transactions garner even more attention when the Dodgers pick up one of your team's previous players, immediately leading fans to question what their team overlooked in said player's profile that makes them intriguing to the back-to-back World champions.

Eric Lauer hasn't been a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in quite some time, three years in fact, but Brewers fans won't soon forget the impressive run he put together in 2021 and 2022. During that two-year stretch, Lauer started 49 games for the Crew and posted a 3.47 ERA. Now, after spending the last season and a half in the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, Lauer is heading to the Dodgers' organization, where it feels certain that he will pitch meaningful innings against his former team, the Brewers, at some point in 2026.

Eric Lauer is a prime bounce-back candidate now that he's in the Dodgers' system

Despite struggling through his eight appearances of the 2026 campaign, with a 6.69 ERA to prove it, Lauer showed flashes of the dominant pitcher that he once was in Milwaukee during his brief tenure in Toronto. A season ago, he made 28 appearances, 15 of which were starts, and posted a 3.18 ERA with a solid 24% strikeout rate and an excellent 6% walk rate.

Additionally, Lauer played an important role in the Blue Jays' AL-pennant-winning run last year, posting a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 postseason innings stretched across five appearances.

Though there's no guarantee Lauer earns consistent opportunities on the Dodgers' crowded roster, it's almost certain that Los Angeles' oft-injured starting staff will need his services at some point. Lauer, given the flashes of excellence throughout his career and Los Angeles' ability to unlock the most in their pitchers, feels primed to take advantage of any big-league chance that he does receive.

Lauer was something of a postseason hero for the Blue Jays last season, and could certainly become that for the Dodgers in 2026 as well. A frustrating reality it would be, if the Brewers were to run into their former left-hander in the playoffs, just a few short years after he hit a wall in their minor league system.

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