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Eric Lauer has been shut down from throwing and placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, per staff at Dodger Blue. The left-hander’s removal came one day after a disastrous outing against the St. Louis Cardinals in which he labored through just three innings on 63 pitches, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs.

Lauer has been a reliable member of the Dodgers rotation all season, and his availability down the stretch was critical to the team’s postseason hopes. The left elbow inflammation is a significant concern—it’s the kind of injury that can linger if rushed, or that can require extended rest to fully resolve. The fact that the team is shutting him down completely rather than trying to push him back out suggests the medical staff believes this needs proper treatment and recovery time. Two weeks is the minimum timeline being discussed, but soft-tissue inflammation in a pitcher’s throwing elbow can often require longer to fully heal.

This is another hammer blow to a rotation that’s already been ravaged by injuries. Will Klein remains on the 60-day IL. Roki Sasaki is still dealing with the finger blister and his role is uncertain. Shohei Ohtani may be headed to the IL himself if his biceps issue doesn’t improve. That leaves us leaning on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Tarik Skubal as our primary starters heading into the stretch run and postseason. It’s not ideal, but those four have shown they can be trusted.

The timing is as brutal as it gets. We’re in early September with the postseason five weeks away. Lauer’s IL stint removes depth we desperately need, and it forces the front office to consider call-ups from AAA or creative roster management to keep the rotation functioning. This is exactly the kind of adversity that defines September baseball. How we respond—whether we fold or find ways to win without our full complement of arms—will say everything about whether this team is built for October.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: September 5, 2026 3:05 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers