The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed 30-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, the team announced Monday.
In order to make room for Lawrence on the 40-man roster, righty Johan Oviedo was placed on the 60-day injured list.
Oviedo, 27, is coming off Tommy John surgery performed in February of 2024 and had looked to be in the mix to compete for a rotation spot during spring training.
The cause of Oviedo’s placement long-term on the injured list was a right lat strain, the Pirates announced.
Lawrence, a 12th-round pick by the Rockies in the 2015 MLB Draft, had spent the entirety of his big-league career (2021-24) with Colorado, going 12-12 with a 5.43 ERA in 182 games and 194 innings, all of which came in relief.
Last season, Lawrence appeared in 56 games for the Rockies, producing a 4-4 record and 6.49 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 33 walks in 59 2/3 innings.
The previous season in 2023, Lawrence had shown promise, appearing in a career-high 69 games and recording a 4-7 record, 3.71 ERA and 11 saves over 75 innings.
Lawrence relies heavily on two pitches: the sinker, which he throws more than 58% of the time, per Statcast, and sweeper (41%).
In 2024, he ranked in the 90th percentile of MLB pitchers with a ground ball percentage of 52.6%.
