Blue Jays predicted to trade struggling lefty amid unexpected Patrick Corbin results originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Blue Jays are going through some major struggles this season, and one of the biggest issues has been the health of their roster. Between the lineup, the rotation, and the bullpen, the rotation has been the most banged up by far.
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Cody Ponce is done for the season, Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer are all out right now on the injured list. Fortunately, Trey Yesavage is back, but the rotation still has some big question marks.
And with the major question marks, Fansided.com's Zachary Rotman is predicting that the Blue Jays actually cut ties with a starter this season, as Eric Lauer, the veteran lefty, is struggling mightily compared to the unexpected results from Patrick Corbin.
"Patrick Corbin has outpitched him," Rotman writes. "And while the Jays could move Lauer to the bullpen, there's reason to believe that if he does not improve, they'll want to cut bait with him altogether, whether they're able to find a trade suitor or not."
With Corbin being such a welcome surprise for the Blue Jays this season, parting with Lauer would make a ton of sense by this year's deadline for the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays could trade Eric Lauer and rely on Patrick Corbin
If before the season, Blue Jays fans were told that Lauer would be much worse than Patrick Corbin, who was on their roster, they likely would've been shocked.
Last season, Lauer had a solid 3.12 ERA in the postseason and a 3.18 ERA in the regular season across 8.2 and 104.2 innings pitched, respectively.
This season has been very different. He has a 6.03 ERA in 31.1 innings of work. He's not been nearly good enough for the Blue Jays to justify keeping him on the roster. A trade wouldn't be a surprise at this rate, assuming they can find one.
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And the reason why a trade could work, beyond the expected return of one of their injured starters, would be thanks to Corbin's emergence as a decent starter.
He has a 3.60 ERA this season across six starts and 30 innings pitched. Corbin might not be the best pitcher on the roster, but he eats up innings and can give the Blue Jays the kind of work they need from a fifth starter this season.
The Blue Jays trading Lauer to rely on Corbin would be a move that'd be hard to believe if told at the start of the season. But, with where things stand now, it might not be a bad idea at all.
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