The Washington Nationals have claimed right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Minnesota Twins, the team announced. Minnesota designated him for assignment a few days ago after he had prolonged struggles with the club.
On June 2, the Twins acquired Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash after he had been DFA'd a few days prior. It's safe to say the trade didn't work out for the Twins; in six innings across seven appearances with Minnesota, Lawrence allowed 12 earned runs on 10 hits (four home runs), nine walks and two hit batters. On the bright side, he collected 12 strikeouts over those six innings.
Lawrence is one of the many journeymen relievers the Twins acquired mid-season before dumping after they failed to perform at even an average level. Other examples include Austin Voth, whom the Twins DFA'd earlier this morning, and Luis GarcÃa, whom Minnesota DFA'd in May after he spent about one month with the team.
Former Twin Justin Lawrence has attractive pitching traits despite struggles
It's somewhat surprising Lawrence, 31, didn't clear waivers. He also struggled significantly with Pittsburgh this year, recording a 5.32 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP over 22 innings. The Nationals are hoping Lawrence's high strikeout rate, unique side-arm delivery and 2025 success (0.51 ERA in 17 2/3 innings) will translate to a bounce-back in the second half of the season. Twins fans who watched Lawrence, who is out of minor-league options, this year know that's unlikely, as the right-hander's poor command made him difficult to watch despite his above-average fastball velocity and the ability to induce strikeouts at a high rate.
Like the Twins, the Nationals have one of the worst bullpens in the big leagues. Minnesota's relievers rank last in ERA at 5.35, while Washington's bullpen ranks 27th at 4.93. Both teams are obviously desperate for bullpen help, but the Twins decided it wasn't worth carrying Lawrence any longer. We're all rooting for Lawrence to revive his career with the Nationals, but it seems he is nearing the end of his time in MLB. But who knows, maybe Lawrence's elbow injury that kept him out for most of the 2025 season is the reason he is struggling, and he just needs more reps to regain his form. A 2015 12th-round pick, Lawrence has a career 5.37 ERA with a 22.6% strikeout rate, 12.7% walk rate and .261 opponent batting average over 239 2/3 MLB innings.
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