The Minnesota Twins have officially added reliever Justin Lawrence to their 26-man roster after acquiring the 31-year-old right-hander from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash last night. The Twins already had an open 40-man roster spot for Lawrence, who posted a 5.32 ERA over 22 innings with Pittsburgh this season. To clear space for the ex-Pirate on its MLB roster, Minnesota optioned left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk to Triple-A St. Paul, despite the southpaw posting a respectable 3.44 ERA over 18 1/3 innings in the majors this season.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/xoit8g3DZk
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 2, 2026
Along with his solid ERA, Funderburk has an elite barrel rate of 3.7% (91st percentile), a hard-hit rate of 27.8% (96th percentile), a ground-ball rate of 57.4% (95th percentile) and an average exit velocity of 86.7 mph (88th percentile). However, he's only struck out batters at a 12.2% rate (2nd percentile) and has an extremely high 19.5% walk rate (1st percentile) and a rough 5.64 FIP.
Twins option Funderburk due to poor underlying metrics
If Funderburk, 29, were out of options, the Twins may have been more inclined to keep the southpaw in the majors. Still, there are several other relievers whom the Twins could've demoted to make room for Lawrence, but they decided they'd rather keep them over Funderburk, despite the lefty's decent results. Minnesota's decision to demote a reliever with a 3.44 ERA for one with a 5.32 ERA proves that teams care more about underlying metrics than results when it comes to bullpen arms with small sample sizes.
Lawrence may have struggled this year, but his peripherals and past success suggest he could be much better. This season, the right-hander has a solid 23.6% strikeout rate (59th percentile), and his sinker, which he has thrown 42.2% of the time in 2026, has averaged 95.6 mph (69th percentile). Lawrence complements his sinker with a low-80s sweeper (39.6% pitch usage) and a mid-90s four-seam fastball (18.2% pitch usage).
Justin Lawrence and his super sweeper head to Minnesota! The high FIP and walk rate are concerning but maybe they can get him on the right track. https://t.co/3iyN9Bdqi3 pic.twitter.com/mBroZ3PoAs
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) June 2, 2026
Additionally, Lawrence posted an outstanding 0.51 ERA with 23 strikeouts across 17 1/3 innings last season with the Pirates. And while his 2021, 2022 and 2024 seasons were rough, the righty had a solid 2023 season with the Colorado Rockies, recording a 3.72 ERA across 75 innings.
Funderburk will likely be back in the majors later in the season. His recent option marks the second time he has been demoted to Triple-A in 2026. The lefty is likely understandably frustrated he can't keep a role on Minnesota's 26-man roster, but his underlying metrics suggest he will likely regress.
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