Lauer eyes rotation job for Blue Jays ... but is there a spot for him?

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Eric Lauer knows how to downshift from starting. A year ago, he did it admirably. This year, he hopes he won’t need to do it at all.

Lauer is back on the fringes of the Blue Jays’ rotation this spring, operating essentially as the No. 6 starter while Shane Bieber ramps up slowly. If something goes wrong, Lauer slides right into that rotation, where he gave the Blue Jays 15 crucial starts a season ago. If all goes well -- for the Blue Jays, at least -- Lauer is the likely long man out of the bullpen.

Those are two very different lives, and Lauer prefers to live the life of a starter.

“He’s going into this saying he wants to be one of the starters,” manager John Schneider said. “If that’s the case, that’s the case. We’re all ready to pivot, but this will be a normal starter’s spring for him.”

Of course this is what Lauer wants. Coming back from a 2024 season spent in Korea, Lauer saved this rotation a year ago, then handled a move back to the bullpen admirably and posted a cumulative 3.18 ERA over 104 2/3 innings. His last outing came in Game 3 of the World Series, when he gave the Blue Jays 4 2/3 scoreless innings in that 18-inning marathon.

Instead of being moved back into the rotation this season, though, Lauer is back on that bubble. Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce have replaced Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. Trey Yesavage is here to stay and José Berríos is back. Lauer has been stuck one step away from a rotation spot at every turn.

“Being able to lock in mentally and physically as a starter is what’s best for me,” Lauer said. “It’s what I normally do. It’s how I normally prepare. I know where I’m supposed to be at certain times. The whole bouncing back and forth thing last year kind of hurt me in the long run -- not physically, but in my standing. I’d really like to perform, do what I did last year and show that I can start.”

That’s another reality of this season for Lauer. He’s a free agent at season’s end. Entering the market as a pure long reliever, a swing man or an established starter open up different doors and different futures. There’s a lot on the line for Lauer this season, but regardless of how this works out, he’s going to find a way to be valuable to the Blue Jays. Whether it looks like it did a year ago or leans further in one of the directions -- starting or relieving -- Lauer’s innings will matter.

Schneider recognizes the value of this, too. Remember Easton Lucas, Paxton Schultz, José Ureña and Spencer Turnbull? Each started games for the Blue Jays a season ago. Toronto has other starting depth, including prospect Gage Stanifer, but it’s always easier when one pitcher steps up and runs with the job in a time of need.

“The way the game has evolved, it’s good to have as many starters as you possibly can built up,” Lauer said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

It feels like Lauer will strike the right balance here, as he did a year ago. When Lauer was bumped to the bullpen in late August, he handled it like a pro and his performance didn’t falter. He’s sticking up for his own career and his own future here, as he should, but Lauer isn’t someone who will become a problem if this doesn’t go the way he hopes early on. He’s respected in the clubhouse for a reason.

Saturday was a start. Lauer was the Blue Jays’ starter for their Grapefruit League opener, throwing a scoreless inning on 20 pitches. He’ll stick in that rotation, hoping to reach 75 pitches by the end of camp, and go from there.

If the coming weeks go by without another blip of bad news, that’s when the Blue Jays will have a conversation about downshifting Lauer into a shorter role. Until then, he’ll do what he’s always known, which is start.