The former Brewers starter playing an important role in the Blue Jays’ World Series run

As the Milwaukee Brewers sit and watch the World Series at home yet again, they can at least take pride in one of their former pitchers playing an important role in the Toronto Blue Jays' upset bid.

While there aren't a ton of former members of the Crew on either roster -- though quite a few Wisconsin natives are taking part in the Fall Classic -- Eric Lauer has been a standout for the Jays all season.

The four-year Milwaukee veteran landed back in the majors in 2025 after having to settle for minor league and international contracts last year, and he's more than made good on Toronto's faith in him. He authored a 3.18 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 104 2/3 regular season innings, starting just over half of his 28 appearances. The 30-year-old southpaw has been a versatile weapon for John Schneider this year, and he's starting to build an impressive résumé in the postseason.

Eric Lauer proving Brewers wrong in postseason run with Blue Jays

When Milwaukee cut ties with Lauer two years ago, the decision made sense. He had just earned $5.075 million in his second year of arbitration and was due for another raise, though his performance hardly justified it.

After a strong few years in 2021-22 (3.47 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 3.8 WAR in 277 1/3 innings), the wheels completely fell off for Lauer in 2023, his final year with the Brewers. He was worth -1.0 WAR as he owned a 6.56 ERA and 7.41 FIP in less than 50 innings pitched. His Baseball Savant page for that season was bluer than the Jays.

So, the team naturally cut ties with him that offseason, and thus began a long odyssey for Lauer. He had stints with the Pirates and Astros' farm systems, and ultimately ended up in South Korea with the Kia Tigers. Then, the Blue Jays gave him a minor league deal last offseason, and the rest has been history.

This October, the southpaw has made four appearances, all out of the bullpen. Save for a disastrous first outing against the Yankees in the ALDS, Lauer has been nearly perfect in the postseason, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out five over his last 3 2/3 frames of work. That includes him slamming the door on the Dodgers in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the World Series (albeit with a seven-run lead) and working five crucial outs in the closeout game in the ALDS.

There's hardly reason to think that Lauer would have proven to be the difference in the Brewers' NLCS loss to the Dodgers, but his success in Toronto is still worth celebrating, especially for fans who fondly remember his impressive performance in 2021 and 2022.