BRADENTON, Fla. — Justin Lawrence sent his wife a joke text wishing her a happy anniversary on Sunday, marking a year since he was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies.
Lawrence celebrated the one-year anniversary of being claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates with an impressive outing in a World Baseball Classic exhibition game against Team Colombia. The right-handed reliever retired the side on a dozen pitches, recording a pair of strikeouts with his sinker and sweeper before getting a fly out to end the frame.
Afterward, Lawrence reflected on the lessons learned from an injury-filled first year with the Pirates and his hopes of securing a role in their bullpen this season. He posted a 0.51 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 23 strikeouts against eight walks in 17 appearances but went on the injured list April 24 with right elbow inflammation and missed four-plus months before returning to the Pirates on Sept. 12.
“In hindsight, I can call the DFA a blessing in disguise,” Lawrence said. “I commend a lot of guys that I played with in Denver that have been successful there. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to crack the puzzle of how to pitch at that altitude, but I respect the Rockies for doing it at the time they did. They gave me an opportunity to have some time in another organization to get comfortable to try to make a team.
“I came in, threw the ball well and started out well. The biggest thing for me with that injury happening was frustration because I did get an opportunity elsewhere. I felt like it was a good time to settle in and prove myself at the major league level to the entire league that I can pitch at the big-league level for a long time. When that injury happened, the timing didn’t make sense to me. Whether that’s a life lesson for me or if it’s a lesson that I’ll be able to teach my children about something that I went through, then it was worth it. We’re here today. I’m healthy today. I’m looking forward to a very promising season.”
What it taught Lawrence was to trust the process, whether that’s recovering from an injury or working to prevent one. It became a challenge, especially when he and lefty reliever Tim Mayza were doing long toss in an empty PNC Park while the Pirates were on the road.
But Lawrence finished the season strong, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out eight in 4 1/3 scoreless innings over six appearances after being activated on Sept. 12.
“Even when I came back healthy and into the offseason, it taught me to be very diligent in my process,” Lawrence, 31, said. “I paid a little bit more attention to detail with the arm care and everything. At my age, it takes more than the basic level of maintenance to play this game at a high level.”
Watching the way Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller work to take care of their arms was inspiring to Lawrence, helping him prepare for the indoor bullpens this past December. He arrived at spring training ready to prove that he belongs in the bullpen in whatever role he’s asked to handle.
“Justin’s looked really good,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “Excited to have him as part of our back-end mix.”
Where Lawrence has 14 career saves, including 11 for the Rockies in 2023, he’s shown the ability to pitch multiple innings and get out of jams with runners in scoring position. That could make him a perfect candidate to be the fireman, a role he would relish.
“I personally love coming into a bases-loaded jam, getting a double play, saving that pitcher — whether it was a long reliever or a starter — and saving those runs and keeping the game close, then going out there and taking my own inning,” Lawrence said. “I love that. Personally, it’s one of my favorite things to do, go out there and help a guy get out of a jam.
“It kind of plays to who I am as a pitcher, with a funky arm slot and the velocity. I know the hitters are pressing in that situation because they want to get the job done for their team just as much as I do. At that point, when a hitter’s uncomfortable in the box, I’ve already got a one-up on them. Then you take the statistics of the last 200 years of baseball, and I also have that to my advantage, as well. It’s kind of easy to go in there with high confidence, knowing that the odds are in your favor.”
To maintain an advantage, Lawrence has been working on adding a four-seam fastball and a changeup, which he wants to use to keep left-handed hitters honest. But he stuck mainly to his bread and butter against Team Colombia, getting Harold Ramirez swinging at a 2-2 sinker, Gio Urshela going down on a foul tip against a sweeper and getting Donovan Solano to fly out on a sinker-sweeper two-pitch combination.
“It’s one of those days where everything is synced up, mechanics feel good and you’re just pitching without thinking,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, I’d love to figure out how to do that every single outing. That was one of those easy, just letting the athleticism take over.
“Having an outing like that early in spring is good because it’s early in spring and there’s video I can fall back on. If I have a tough time later in spring or early this season, I know I have this outing that I can compare it to and look at it as a baseline.”
And, after a year of ups and downs with the Pirates, that’s what Lawrence is seeking this season: Staying above the baseline.
“It just really puts it in perspective, that your path is your own and it’s unique to yourself more than anyone,” Lawrence said. “You can’t compare to the guy next to you, whether it’s their salary, their performance, their time or any of that. It’s my path and when I’m done playing this game, I’m going to be happy with the way it went.”