The Los Angeles Dodgers went from having too much pitching to not enough in a flash, amid the recent losses of Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell to injury. It is why they acquired Eric Lauer to help bridge the gap until the time where the rotation gets back to full health.
Notably, the last time the Dodgers saw Lauer was against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series. The left-hander and Will Klein traded scoreless innings back and forth in what turned out to be a game for the ages.
So it made it fitting when Lauer arrived in San Diego that Klein was among the first new teammates he met.
“I think everybody is very nice here. Everybody has been very welcoming,” Lauer said. “When I first walked in, I saw Will Klein and he introduced himself. I was like, ‘I know you. I remember you.'”
Lauer entered Game 3 of last year’s world Series with one out in the 12th inning and finished with 68 pitches thrown across 4.2 scoreless innings. Klein matched him nearly step-for-step, completing four scoreless innings of his own with a pitch count of 72.
Neither player made another appearance in the series after emptying the tank, but the left-hander surmised that his new teammate was more sore the following day.
As far as the deal that brought Lauer to L.A., the Dodgers acquired him from the Blue Jays on Sunday in exchange for cash considerations. Brusdar Graterol was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Lauer on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.
The veteran left-hander had been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays six days prior to the trade amid some struggles this season.
Eric Lauer experiences full-circle moment in San Diego
It just so happens that Lauer joined the Dodgers roster just in time for their series against the San Diego Padres, who originally drafted him with the 25th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.
The eight-year veteran described the situation as a weird moment of serendipity.
“That’s what me and Prior were joking about, because he was my first pitching coordinator when I was with San Diego,” he said. “We were laughing that it was kind of like a full-circle moment for us. Of all places, I come to the team he’s with and in San Diego. It’s cool.”
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