After an impressive 2025 stint, Lawrence has posted a 5.32 ERA in 23 appearances this season.
The Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced on Monday.
Lawrence had been designated for assignment by the Pirates on Friday. With the Twins in current need of pitching, they jumped at the chance to take a flyer on him.
The 31-year-old found a stride in his first season in a Pirates uniform last year, but he has not been able to translate that same success into 2026. In 23 appearances, Lawrence has posted a 5.32 ERA and has struggled with command.
The Twins add the righty to a bullpen that could definitely use that extra arm. With recent injuries to Bailey Ober and Kendry Rojas, as well as the DFA of Simeon Woods Richardson, their pitching staff could have their work cut out for them going forward. Lawrence provides an extra option for Twins manager Derek Shelton, while also presenting himself as a low-risk, high-reward candidate for Minnesota.
After four seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Lawrence was picked up by the Pirates off waivers before the start of the 2025 season. Right elbow inflammation sidelined him for the majority of the season, as he pitched only in the opening and closing months of the season. But in those appearances, Lawrence proved to be a reliable arm in the Pittsburgh bullpen.
In the 17 games he appeared in, Lawrence allowed just one run in 17 ⅔ innings of work, while allowing nine hits. Despite the smaller sample size, his 0.51 ERA in that campaign posed hope for the Pirates to see more from him in his second season with the team.
Those same flashes were no longer there. But as Minnesota takes a chance on the veteran reliever, their hope is that he can rediscover that form with them.
His specialty pitch that has carried him to a lot of that success is his wipeout sweeper, one that has garnered a whiff percentage of 41.3% in 2026. But without a strong feel for his sinker and four-seam fastball that sit in the mid-90’s, Lawrence has yet to further that swing-and-miss pitch with something to complement it with.
Lawrence has always displayed poor control on the mound, as the issue is still proving to be a concern this season. With a high walk rate and a poor FIP, Lawrence aims to put his Pirates tenure in the past to become that same reliever that once showed glimpses of being elite.
