Pirates claim reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers from Rockies, place Johan Oviedo on 60-day IL
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%.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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