The Blue Jays already made one difficult roster decision this month and on Wednesday morning they were forced to make another.
Having too many players for too few spots is a good problem to have, but it inevitably leads to some difficult conversations. Manager John Schneider experienced that on Saturday when the Jays optioned the productive Joey Loperfido to make room for George Springer.
Another awkward encounter came prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates when Eric Lauer was at least temporarily moved to the bullpen. His transition cleared the way for Shane Bieber to make his Jays debut on Friday in Miami.
Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman and Bieber are the priority arms while Chris Bassitt likely falls next in line. That left former No. 1 starter José BerrÃos or Lauer for the fifth spot. Based on performance, Lauer was more deserving to stick around, but BerrÃos has the bigger contract and more seniority.
BerrÃos enjoyed a strong first half, but he has been a shell of his former self lately. Since the start of July, the 31-year-old has a 5.68 ERA while striking out just 32 batters across 44 1/3 innings. Even more troubling than the bloated stats is the diminished velocity. Last year, BerrÃos averaged 94.1 m.p.h. on his fastball and during his last start it dipped to 91.8.
Lauer had long been considered the expendable piece and yet he performed better than anyone. The 30-year-old hasn’t allowed more than three runs in an outing and his 2.76 ERA is the lowest of anyone on the staff. Based on the numbers, he should not have gone anywhere, but that’s not always how decisions get made in professional sports.
Moving off BerrÃos is complicated by the fact that he’s . If he declines to use an opt-out clause, BerrÃos would remain under club control for another two years at approximately $50 million. The native of Puerto Rico also hasn’t pitched out of the bullpen since 2017.
Lauer doesn’t possess a guaranteed contract for next season but he does have another year of arbitration. He also has more experience as a reliever with 14 career appearances out of the bullpen, including six this year. Between the two, Lauer was the safer option for long relief even if his performance justifies a larger role.
The Jays could have put this decision off another week by keeping everyone on turn and giving each starter an extra day of rest. That strategy would have worked for about a week before things got tricky. From Aug. 28-Sept. 8, the Jays have three off-days, which means a six-man staff would risk throwing off everyone’s routines by giving them far too much time off.
Going with a six-man staff also would have also made things much harder on the bullpen. The Jays would have been required to carry seven relievers, instead of eight, and there wouldn’t be a long man. One short start could put an already overworked bullpen into a state of disarray.
With a five-game lead in the division entering Wednesday, the top priority is getting the starters ready for the playoffs. That requires having an extended look at Bieber, who would be a leading candidate to start Game 1 of a playoff series if he regains his previous ace form. It also involves making sure Scherzer’s problematic thumb is good to go and that Gausman enters the playoffs in rhythm.
Beyond the top three, who could be used in any order, there is room for one additional starter in a best-of-five playoff series. That final spot likely would go to Bassitt, who allowed just two runs over 5 2/3 innings against the Pirates on Wednesday, but there’s still plenty of time for that to change.
If the standings were tight and the Jays were battling just to get into the playoffs this would be a straight-forward move because Lauer deserves to start. Since the Jays have a cushion, it makes sense not to ruffle any feathers in the clubhouse and instead strengthen the ‘pen by demoting Lauer.
Barring injuries, it’s highly unlikely that either BerrÃos or Lauer makes a start in the post-season. Berrios also figures to get just five or six outings before the end of the year while Lauer could still make a spot start or two. For those reasons, picking loyalty over performance is justifiable in the short term.
This isn’t the fun part of Schneider’s job, but considering the alternative would have been not competing for the playoffs at all, it’s one he happily took on, even if he upsets some people along the way.
Update
Aug. 20, 2025 — This story has been changed from a previously published version to reflect the news that Eric Lauer has been sent to the bullpen.Â
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