Justin Lawrence DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed right-hander Justin Lawrence off waivers on Monday from the Colorado Rockies. The 30-year-old reliever finds a new home in the National League after being waived by the Rockies on Saturday. Colorado let him go after a tough 2024 campaign that saw him post a 6.49 ERA (5.63 FIP), a 1.78 WHIP, two saves, 45 strikeouts and 33 walks in 59 2/3 relief innings. The year before, he had a career-low 3.72 ERA and a career-high 11 saves in 75 innings pitched. Most of Lawrence's struggles came from a dip in velocity on both his fastball and sinker, which led to a career-low 16.1 percent strikeout rate. Lawrence will bring experience to an inexperienced Pirates bullpen, but he won't be a lock to make the Opening Day bullpen. And if Lawrence makes the team, he'll be a late-inning setup man in front of closer David Bednar, at best.

Colorado Rockies right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence was placed on waivers. After posting a 3.72 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP during the 2023 season, Lawrence took a step back in 2024 as he held a 6.49 ERA with a 11.78 WHIP. In 2023, Lawrence tallied 11 saves and tallied 78 punchouts across 75 frames. However, in 2024, Lawrence tallied just two saves with 45 strikeouts across 59 2/3 innings. Last summer, Lawrence generated a high 6.23 xERA and a .300 xBA which placed him in the first percentile in both metrics. He also generated whiffs at a low 22.6 percent rate and strikeouts at a 16.1 percent rate, which were both well below the average marks. Given his struggles last season, Lawrence will likely not draw extensive interest on waivers.

The Colorado Rockies placed right-hander Justin Lawrence (arm) on the 15-day injured list on Monday with a right-shoulder strain. In other moves, the Rockies selected the contract of left-hander Josh Rogers from the minors and recalled right-hander Peter Lambert while designating right-hander John Curtiss for assignment. Lawrence hasn't been very good at all for the Rockies in a high-leverage, late-inning role for the Rockies and is now hurt. Overall, he's gone 1-3 with a 5.91 ERA (4.11 FIP), a 1.83 WHIP, two saves, 15 walks and 20 strikeouts in 21 1/3 relief innings in his fourth big-league season. The walks haven't helped one bit, and Lawrence's recent arm injury could explain why he's been even worse recently. At the moment, Tyler Kinley and Jalen Beeks appear to be the team's top options for saves, with Kinley locking down two of the last three saves.