LoDo’s most famous sweeper is headed to Pittsburgh.
The Pirates claimed Justin Lawrence off waivers on Monday, ending the reliever’s four-year tenure with Colorado.
Lawrence, a 12th-round pick in 2015 out of Daytona State College, made an impact on the Rockies bullpen with a high-90s fastball that could reach triple digits as well as a sweeper-type slider. The right-hander’s sidearm delivery, as well as the sink on his fastball, made him a difficult at-bat for opposing hitters.
But Lawrence struggled with his command at times. He had a 8.64 ERA as a rookie, then posted a solid season in 2023 with a 3.72 ERA in 39 games with 11 saves while taking over the closer role for a brief time. Last year, he was again up and down with a 6.49 ERA in 56 games.
Along the way to asserting himself in the majors, Lawrence overcame an 80-game suspension in 2020 for taking Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), a performance-enhancing substance in violation of MLB’s drug policy. Lawrence said the failed drug test was a result of a contamination of an NSF-certified supplement he was taking.
The Rockies backed him during the ordeal, and he went on to debut the next season.
Judging by the advanced stats, Lawrence fell off in 2024, which likely played into the Rockies’ decision to put him on the waiver wire on Saturday.
He was in the 90th percentile in the league in ground ball rate, but beyond that, he was in the bottom 1% of the league in expected batting average (.300) and XWOBA (expected weighted on-base average) at .376. That means hitters were keying in on his pitches.
Colorado now has an open roster spot, with 39 players on the 40-man roster.
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