The Toronto Blue Jays have made a change to their pitching plan for Thursday's spring-training game against the Atlanta Braves (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
After originally scheduling Dylan Cease to start the game on the mound, the Blue Jays will have Eric Lauer take the ball to open on the road against the Braves. Instead of travelling to North Port, Fla., Cease will stay in Dunedin to throw a simulated game, according to Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling.
Lauer was originally scheduled to follow José Berríos in relief on Friday.
It will mark the third outing of spring for the left-handed Lauer. He last pitched on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing three runs on three hits in 1.2 innings of work.
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The Blue Jays begin their ramp up to the 2026 with spring training action in Florida. Sportsnet will broadcast 23 spring training games on TV and Sportsnet+.
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Lauer is coming off a 2025 regular season in which he served as an important piece of Toronto's pitching staff. The 30-year-old posted a 3.18 ERA over 104.2 innings while striking out 102 batters.
Chris Sale and Spencer Strider are both expected to pitch for Atlanta against the Blue Jays.
Cease, meanwhile, made his first spring-training appearance on Saturday for the Blue Jays, striking out three over 1.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. He gave up just one hit — a home run to outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.
The 30-year-old right-hander landed with Toronto in the off-season on a seven-year, $210-million contract.
