Veteran lefty Eric Lauer named Bisons 2025 Opening Day Starter

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Buffalo Bisons manager Casey Candaele announced today that 29-year old Eric Lauerwill get the ball on Friday as the Bisons Opening Day Starter as the Herd starts the 2025 season against the Rochester Red Wings at Sahlen Field (2:05 p.m.) GET MY TICKETS

A veteran of 120 big league games, getting the nod for the campaigns first game is not a first for the Elyria, OH-native. Lauer was the San Diego Padres Opening Day starter in 2019, a season where the southpaw went 8-10 with a 4.45 ERA in his first full season in the big leagues (30 games/29 starts). After that year with the Padres, Lauer spent four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, 2020-2023, where he was a combined 22-20 with a 4.22 ERA in 67 games and 60 starts. For his Major League career, Lauer has struck you 567 batters in 596.2 innings of work.

Lauer split last season between at the Triple-A level between the Indianapolis Indians and the Sugarland Space Cowboys where he was a combined 4-5 with a 5.26 ERA in 19 games and 16 starts. He also pitched for the Kia Tigers of the KBO, going 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 34.2 innings of work. He was drafted by the Padres in the 1st round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, though he was also drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013 (17th round), but decided to attend Kent State University.