Dodgers Demote Pitcher, Officially Add Eric Lauer Ahead of Padres Game

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a roster move ahead of Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres.

Left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend, has officially joined the team in San Diego and was added to the active roster.

To make room for Lauer, right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers added LHP Eric Lauer to the active roster and optioned RHP Wyatt Mills.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 19, 2026

Who is Eric Lauer?

The Dodgers sent cash to the Blue Jays for Lauer, who had been designated for assignment. The veteran left-hander was in the midst of a down year in Toronto, sporting a 6.69 ERA across 36.1 innings with 26 strikeouts to 16 walks and an American League-worst 11 home runs allowed.

Lauer was outspoken about not wanting to pitch behind an opener, a strategy the Blue Jays utilized with him. After his five innings in relief on May 10 against the Los Angeles Angels, he was DFA'd.

The Dodgers added Lauer amid a rash of injuries to the starting rotation. Blake Snell underwent surgery on Tuesday while Tyler Glasnow suffered a setback in his recovery from back spasms.

The Dodgers, who once appeared to have too much starting pitching depth, suddenly needed to find a sixth starter off the street.

While Lauer has struggled this year, he's coming off an impressive 2025 season in which he revitalized his career with Toronto.

After spending the 2024 season in the Korea Baseball Organization, Lauer pitched 104.2 innings for Toronto last regular season, sporting a 3.18 ERA with 102 strikeouts to 26 walks.

He even pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in the World Series against the Dodgers, recording the final three outs of Game 1 and taking down 4.2 innings in Game 3, which went 18 innings.

The Dodgers are hoping to get Lauer back to his 2025 form. General manager Brandon Gomes said the team has already identified some things they can work on with him.

“We’ve had our guys take a look, and we’ll sit down and talk through some stuff,” Gomes said to reporters on Monday. “We know the makeup is really good, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on him and helping him be as successful as he’s been in the past.”

While Lauer will be in the bullpen this week, he's going to join the rotation next week as the team's sixth starter.

The Dodgers didn't want to alter the schedule of their other five pitchers, and they felt Lauer was the best option to be a starting pitcher for the team right now.

"The biggest thing is making sure we’re balancing winning as many games as possible, but not panicking and throwing our process out-of-whack here. Trying to balance the short and long term," Gomes said. "This is a guy that’s had a lot of success in the big leagues and somebody that we feel like we can get back to what he was last year."

“Part of the thinking is to not create this domino effect of chasing our tails," Gomes added. "Trying to maintain a similar schedule as we’ve had, and when we can get guys extra days’ rest, do it. If we don’t need it, and we’re trying to line things up a different way, just maintain the flexibility to be able to do that.”

Lauer has a career 4.26 ERA across parts of eight seasons with the Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and Padres, who drafted him in the first round of the 2016 draft. Lauer made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2018.

Dodgers Option Wyatt Mills

As for the corresponding move, Mills was optioned back to Oklahoma City after making four appearances for the Dodgers, allowing three runs with seven walks over 3.1 innings.

To his credit, all three runs came in one outing against the San Francisco Giants. The other three outings produced 2.1 scoreless innings.

Mills joined the Dodgers on a minor league deal last year. He was called up last weekend when the bullpen needed a fresh arm.

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