The Blue Jays Just DFA'd a Pitcher the A's Can't Afford to Ignore

We've been saying for months that the Athletics need another left-hander in their bullpen mix, and the Toronto Blue Jays may have just gift-wrapped one. On Monday, the Jays made a series of roster moves, with one of the most notable being that they designated 30-year-old Eric Lauer for assignment.

The stats this season haven't been great, with the lefty holding a 1-5 record, a 6.69 ERA, and a 1.49 WHIP, but the context matters. With all of Toronto's starting pitcher injuries, Lauer has been asked to be a full-time member of the rotation.

While his stat line says that he has made eight appearances and six starts, two of those games saw the Jays use an opener in front of him, which he wasn't terribly thrilled about.

Eric Lauer fits the A's for two reasons

The first, and most pressing fit is the bullpen. With Hogan Harris serving as the lone lefty for much of the season, manager Mark Kotsay's options have been limited when he turns to his relievers. Adding Lauer would provide a second left-hander to utilize, leaving Harris for high-leverage situations.

Kotsay has also said this season that Mark Leiter Jr. has reverse splits, which serves a similar purpose to having a second lefty. The problem is, Leiter has been unreliable this season and holds an 8.62 ERA, though that comes with a 3.94 FIP.

The A's could swap out Brooks Kriske for Lauer, adding an arm they may use more often. Plus Lauer has routinely gone above 100 innings, so he can go multiple innings, which is a benefit for the entire bullpen.

The hope would be that with him concentrating on relief, he'd be able to recover some of his lost velocity this season, with his four-seamer sitting at 90.4 mph. It was at 91.7 mph last season. This would be a low-risk addition for the A's, and if it doesn't work out, they plug somebody else in.

The other key factor — particularly on this A's team — is that he pitched all through the postseason last year, and handled some of the most high-stress innings a reliever could take on.

While former A's reliever Will Klein made himself a postseason hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings of Game 3, Lauer was matching him pitch for pitch, totaling 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, giving up two hits, walking four and striking out two. He worked one more scoreless inning in the World Series, closing out Game 1 for Toronto.

The results haven't been there for him this year, but a move to the bullpen without being asked to start could help him get some of his stuff back. He could also benefit from coming to a team that is looking to make a run of its own. The A's need a pitcher like Lauer, and the green and gold may be what he needs to find himself again.

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