What Should Twins Fans Expect from Sidearmer Justin Lawrence?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins continued searching for bullpen help on Monday night, acquiring right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. Pittsburgh designated the veteran reliever for assignment last week, giving Minnesota an opportunity to take a chance on a pitcher whose career has featured both electric highs and frustrating inconsistency.

At first glance, Lawrence's numbers don't inspire much confidence. The 31-year-old owns a 5.32 ERA in 22 innings this season and has battled command issues throughout his Major League career. Yet, the Twins clearly see something worth exploring, and Lawrence believes his current performance is better than the stat line suggests.

"I think I'm in a better place than what you see in the stat line, mentally, physically, health-wise," Lawrence told reporters. "I felt like I'm in a really good spot. [In] 2024, kind of struggled the entire year, but I felt like I'm in a completely different headspace. My stuff feels really good. I'm still attacking the zone. I'm always best when I'm in the zone. As long as I can stay in the strike zone, keep the sinker down, and be able to just control what I can control, most importantly, the success will come."

For a Twins bullpen desperate for stability, Lawrence represents another low-cost gamble with a potentially meaningful payoff. Lawrence brings the type of arm talent Minnesota's bullpen lacks. He throws two fastballs that both average better than 95 MPH, and complements them with a sweeper capable of generating swings and misses.

The raw arsenal has allowed him to survive in the big leagues despite inconsistent command. His 23.6% strikeout rate this season sits around league average, and when he's locating his pitches, hitters often struggle to square him up.

Across 222 career appearances, however, Lawrence owns a 5.05 ERA. His 11.3% walk rate this season highlights the same issue that has followed him throughout his professional career. The Twins aren't acquiring a finished product. They're betting they can unlock more consistency from a pitcher whose stuff has always outperformed his results.

Part of Lawrence's optimism stems from feeling healthier than he has in recent years. After missing most of the 2025 season due to elbow inflammation, he believes his mechanics are moving in the right direction again.

"Yeah, I think I'm feeling better, physically,” Lawrence said. “My direction is straight to the plate, so being able to not cut myself off and get out there has been really good."

Improved extension and cleaner mechanics could be especially important for a pitcher whose sinker relies on movement and deception. When Lawrence gets down the mound effectively, his fastball plays up, and his breaking ball becomes even tougher to recognize. The photos below show his “foot strike” position from 2025 and 2026. His extension is up noticeably this year, and this is why.

 

The Four-Seamer Experiment

One of the more interesting developments in Lawrence's career came when the Pirates encouraged him to throw more four-seam fastballs. Pittsburgh wanted him to incorporate the pitch shortly after acquiring him, but Lawrence wasn't fully comfortable with the adjustment initially. Over the winter, he worked to develop the offering and became more confident using it.

However, the process wasn't seamless. As Lawrence worked to create separation between his four-seamer and his traditional sinker, he occasionally struggled to keep the sinker in its ideal locations. Instead of staying at the bottom of the zone, it drifted into more hittable areas.

Even so, he believes the four-seamer can be a useful addition moving forward and plans to continue using it. The Twins will likely spend the next several weeks determining whether pitch-mix changes can help him unlock another level, or whether simplifying his approach could yield better results.

Everything Comes Back to the Strike Zone

When Lawrence discusses his career, one theme repeatedly emerges: throwing strikes. Despite possessing solid velocity and significant movement, he doesn't view command issues as an unavoidable consequence of his stuff.

"Not necessarily. There are guys in the league that have amazing stuff and stuff that moves all sorts of directions, and they still throw a ton of strikes. That's always been my key, my whole career, from the minor leagues up. When I'm in the zone is when I'm at my best."

That self-awareness may be part of what attracted Minnesota. The Twins don't need Lawrence to become an elite closer. They simply need him to throw enough strikes to let his natural ability work. If he can reduce the walks, the combination of velocity, movement, and swing-and-miss potential becomes much more valuable.

A Bullpen Searching for Answers

Minnesota's bullpen has been one of the organization's biggest disappointments this season. The Twins entered Tuesday ranked 25th in bullpen ERA and 29th in strikeout rate, ahead of only the Washington Nationals. Walks have also been a persistent problem, particularly during May.

Those struggles aren't entirely surprising. Minnesota traded away several veteran relievers at last year's deadline and did little to replace that production over the offseason. The result has been a patchwork group that has struggled to miss bats and protect leads consistently.

Lawrence joins recent addition Yoendrys Gómez as another attempt to inject power stuff into the relief corps. Unlike many depth acquisitions, however, Lawrence arrives without minor-league options.

That creates an immediate roster challenge. Lawrence joins Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, and Gómez as relievers who cannot be freely shuffled between Triple-A and the Major Leagues. For a team that values roster flexibility, carrying multiple non-optionable relievers can become complicated.

Still, Minnesota clearly felt the upside justified the risk. The Twins will assume approximately $800,000 remaining on Lawrence's $1.225 million salary. If he pitches well enough to stick on the roster, he'll remain under team control through the next two seasons.

At this stage, Twins fans shouldn't expect Lawrence to suddenly become the bullpen's savior. What they should expect is a reliever with legitimate Major League stuff, a recent history of high-leverage success, and enough upside to make this gamble worthwhile. The command issues may never completely disappear, but Minnesota doesn't need perfection. It needs another arm capable of generating strikeouts and handling meaningful innings.

For a bullpen desperately searching for answers, Lawrence represents exactly the type of low-cost, high-upside move contenders make during the middle of the season. If he can stay healthy, throw more strikes, and recapture some of the form that made him an All-Star just a few years ago, the Twins may have found much more than a simple depth addition.

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What stands out about Lawrence? Can he become a late-inning option for the Twins? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

 

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[ashbury]

49 minutes ago, Cody Christie said:

What Should Twins Fans Expect from Sidearmer Justin Lawrence?

Hit batsmen.

[krink]

"I'm always best when I'm in the zone."

Uh, yeah... That's kind of the gig?

[Patzky]

I guess someone's gone for good 

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Cody Christie said:

What stands out about Lawrence?

He's a sidearm Sam Deduno. Sure there's movement, but he has no clue where the ball is going when it leaves his fingertips.

1 hour ago, Cody Christie said:

Can he become a late-inning option for the Twins?

God no. Unless we're actively trying to lose 100 games. 

[h2oface]

Walks, hit batters, throw in a few balks, stolen bases, and generous hits. And a DFA in the near future. 

[DJL44]

Cole Sands should be back soon.

[mark allen]

bull pen is more than holding there own right now.

[JADBP]

2 hours ago, Patzky said:

I guess someone's gone for good 

Huh. Ok. Back home again. I wish him luck!  

[Bodie]

26 minutes ago, JADBP said:

Huh. Ok. Back home again. I wish him luck!  

Toronto originally got him from the Mets. Hope he gets straightened out and does well.  Easy guy to root for. 

[arby58]

For comparison purposes, the Twins got him for about what they received in return (cash considerations) for SWR.

SWR: 7.82 ERA, 11.5 K to 11.0 walk rate, 92.7 MPH on his fastball. 

Lawrence: 5.32 ERA, 23.6 K to 11.0 walk rate, 95 MPH on his fastball.

Why are some fans doing the handwringing thing?

[Parfigliano]

Meet the new boss.... same as the....

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

He's a sidearm Sam Deduno. Sure there's movement, but he has no clue where the ball is going when it leaves his fingertips.

Man, I loved Deduno. But yeah, control was an issue with him too. 

[Andy MacPhail]

11 hours ago, Patzky said:

I guess someone's gone for good 

Thanks, Patzky, I knew Sims was going to be picked up by someone. Former team makes sense. Makes me sad how Twins takes care of their home grown players & how they take on inferior players & hope they stick. We all know how bad our BP was starting the offseason. I don't like their mostly miss & hope for a mediocre BP stragedy. That's not the way to be competitive.

Good luck to Sims. Maybe the Twins finally wake up.

[tony&rodney]

Justin didn't look too hot in his first outing but then again some others rebounded after a rough initial appearance. I don't think anyone saw much to be impressed by but we can wait until he pitches again to see if there is anything left in his arm.

[Mike Sixel]

10 hours ago, arby58 said:

For comparison purposes, the Twins got him for about what they received in return (cash considerations) for SWR.

SWR: 7.82 ERA, 11.5 K to 11.0 walk rate, 92.7 MPH on his fastball. 

Lawrence: 5.32 ERA, 23.6 K to 11.0 walk rate, 95 MPH on his fastball.

Why are some fans doing the handwringing thing?

Lawrence is old and bad and never been good, and SWR is young and was decent the last two years? Are we going to completely ignore the last two years?

[Patzky]

4 hours ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Thanks, Patzky, I knew Sims was going to be picked up by someone. Former team makes sense. Makes me sad how Twins takes care of their home grown players & how they take on inferior players & hope they stick. We all know how bad our BP was starting the offseason. I don't like their mostly miss & hope for a mediocre BP stragedy. That's not the way to be competitive.

Good luck to Sims. Maybe the Twins finally wake up.

Well there's this too.. Jays signed Justin Topa. 

Good luck with them both. Maybe Louie can help 

[Mike Sixel]

I expect he's terrible and they refuse to get rid of him. 

[arby58]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Lawrence is old and bad and never been good, and SWR is young and was decent the last two years? Are we going to completely ignore the last two years?

So what would you do? Keep him in the bullpen and just plan on giving up a run every inning he pitches? Their bullpen needs all the competent arms they can get. SWR had a couple decent years, but he doesn't throw hard, he doesn't strike out many batters, now his walk rate is elevated, and balls are leaving the yard in alarming numbers. There isn't much that suggests he is a reclamation project worth a spot in the bullpen, which the Twins need.

[1985Fan]

We also need SP with Ober out and SWR gone. I see Morris is making the start today. I hope he does well and can stick in the rotation. They need him to take Obers spot. Hopefully Bradley comes around to earlier form as well. There isn’t much depth at AAA. 
Sounds like Sands can step into the BP spot vacated by Morris. BP has been good lately, so if Sands steps in and does well, they’re not relying on Lawrence to save the day. 

[Twinsoholic]

1985Fan wrote: “I see Morris is making the start today. I hope he does well and can stick in the rotation. They need him to take Ober’s spot.” Gallagher has 10 scoreless innings over his last 2 starts at St. Paul. If Morris stays in the rotation for a while, perhaps Gallagher can step into to Morris’s pen role. He only has 5 AAA starts to date, but a view in the pen might be in the cards if he does well in his next start and if anyone else gets injured or if Lawrence cannot show that he has what it takes. Sands will be coming back soon, replacing Adams. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, arby58 said:

So what would you do? Keep him in the bullpen and just plan on giving up a run every inning he pitches? Their bullpen needs all the competent arms they can get. SWR had a couple decent years, but he doesn't throw hard, he doesn't strike out many batters, now his walk rate is elevated, and balls are leaving the yard in alarming numbers. There isn't much that suggests he is a reclamation project worth a spot in the bullpen, which the Twins need.

I would have put him in the pen and see what happens,yes