Pirates add former Rockies closer in surprise spring training waiver claim

In 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen was projected to be one of the best in baseball, but their high-leverage arms were very inconsistent instead. Over the offseason, they added multiple veteran left-handers in Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza.

Now just a few weeks into spring training, the Pirates once again add to the bullpen, this time claiming veteran right hander Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Rockies. He was placed on waivers just a few days ago, which is not necessarily a DFA, but Colorado clearly did not want him in their bullpen.

Lawrence is coming off a not-so-great performance last season but has a history of productive numbers in high-leverage situations. In 2023, Lawrence earned 11 saves for the Rockies, along with a 3.72 ERA and a FIP of 3.76. Additionally, his WHIP reached 1.35, coming from a poor walk rate of 11% and an opposing batting average of .230.

Lawrence was plagued by the long ball last season, which is a rough combination with his high walk rate. His home run-to-fly ball ratio reached 18%, which is significantly higher than the league average of about 10%.

Pirates claim Justin Lawrence from the Rockies as late inning option for major league bullpen.

He only brings two pitches to the mix with a sinker and sweeper duo. They're solid pitches, and Lawrence mostly struggled with command in 2024. Even with a down year, he still had league-average barrel rates against his stuff at 7.7%. The year prior was just 5.4%. One positive from that season was his extremely high groundball rate of 52.6%, ranking in the 90th percentile. That was even better than his 2023 season of 48.8%.

Pittsburgh will need to make a corresponding roster move to slot Lawrence into the 40-man. The odd man out of the Pirates' roster is unknown at this point, but it could be one of Chase Shugart or Peter Strzelecki. One of their younger bullpen options, Kyle Nicolas or Carmen Mlodzinski, may need to start the year in Triple-A now since Lawrence is out of minor league options.

This looks like a very solid pickup, but he has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this spring, giving up four hits, three earned runs, and three walks. Luckily, it's just spring training and Lawrence will get to start fresh when the regular season opens in a few weeks. History shows his upside, so it'll be exciting to see what the Pirates can get out of him.