Eric Lauer is not just leaving the Blue Jays. Ross Atkins found a way to turn a DFA situation into an actual trade with the Dodgers.
That is the key twist here. Earlier Sunday, it looked like Lauer was simply headed to Los Angeles after Toronto designated him for assignment last week. Then the details changed. The Blue Jays announced they traded Lauer and cash to the Dodgers for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.
That matters because once a pitcher hits DFA limbo, clubs often end up getting nothing. Instead, Toronto managed to pull a return of some kind out of a player it had already decided it could not keep on the active roster.
Lauer's exit from Toronto was not surprising on the baseball side. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment on May 11 after a rough start to 2026, a stretch that left him with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in 36.1 innings.
Still, this is a cleaner ending than it first appeared. Instead of watching Lauer leave with no return at all, Atkins at least squeezed a small asset play out of the process.
That does not make this some huge win by itself. A player to be named later or cash is usually a modest finish. But modest is still better than empty, especially for a pitcher the Blue Jays had already pushed off the roster.
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Toronto found value after deciding to move on
This is why the corrected version of the story matters. The first wave of reporting made it sound like the Dodgers were just signing Lauer after the DFA process played out. MLB Trade Rumors then noted the process was still being configured, which opened the door to exactly this kind of minor trade.
Now the Blue Jays have their answer. It is officially a trade, and Toronto is sending cash along with Lauer to complete it.
For Los Angeles, this is a typical low-cost Dodgers move. They are taking a chance on a left-hander with big-league experience and hoping a new setting pulls something useful back out of him.
For Toronto, it closes the book on a pitcher who helped more in 2025 than he did in 2026. The Blue Jays did not see enough to keep waiting, but they also did not let the DFA process end without getting at least something back.
That is the real takeaway. Eric Lauer's Blue Jays run is over, but Atkins turned a dead roster spot into a trade chip, and in this kind of move, that counts.
Did Ross Atkins do well to get any return at all for Eric Lauer?
Also read on Blue Jays Insider :
Eric Lauer signs surprising deal with Blue Jays rival after Toronto exit
