The Dodgers transferred Eric Lauer from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list on Friday afternoon. That opened the necessary 40-man roster spot to call up top prospect Josue De Paula.

Lauer just landed on the injured list on September 2 with elbow inflammation. Even with the 60-day window backdating to the original IL date, he’s officially out through the end of October. The World Series will end by Halloween at the latest. Lauer’s season is over.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, as there hadn’t been any indication that the southpaw’s injury was serious. However, Lauer would have been a long shot to crack the postseason roster even if he were at full strength. The elbow issue evidently foreclosed that possibility.

Lauer’s season ends with a 5.23 earned run average over 22 appearances. His numbers are skewed by an ugly eight-start run to begin the year with the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old was a more reliable back-end starter after the Dodgers acquired him in late May. Lauer started 12 of his 14 appearances for Los Angeles, pitching to a 4.50 ERA in 72 frames despite a modest 15.1% strikeout percentage.

A former first-round pick by San Diego, Lauer has pitched for four MLB teams around a brief stint in Korea in 2024. He carries a 4.23 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk percentage in 213 innings since returning to the majors last year. That should be enough for the impending free agent to find a big league deal, presuming he has a healthy offseason. It’d likely be a one-year contract that could allow him to compete for a rotation spot — potentially on a rebuilding team that needs affordable back-end innings.