Pirates taking chance that sidewinder Lawrence can become a bullpen success

The reliever, who was claimed off waivers from Colorado, relies on a sharp-breaking “sweeper.”

Justin Lawrence has an unorthodox delivery, unique metrics on his primary pitches and the back of a baseball card that even he admits isn’t pretty.

What the right-handed reliever does have is a pair of perfect innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates since they claimed him off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, where he had high-leverage experience.

The Pirates are taking a chance Lawrence can become their latest reclamation project to thrive in the bullpen, like Ryan Borucki in 2023 and Dennis Santana last year.

The 6-foot-3 Lawrence is a sidewinder with the combination of a fastball that averages about 95 mph and a sweeper that held opponents to a .182 batting average and 30.8% whiff rate last season.

“If you look metrically at the sweeper,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “it’s one of the best in the game.”

Since switching his slot from over the top to sidearm action as a freshman at Jacksonville University, Lawrence’s grip-it-and-rip-it style of pitching has made him a unicorn among relief pitchers. He is one of six pitchers with a sub-zero delivery — Lawrence has an arm angle of minus-2 — to average 95 mph on his fastball. And his sweeper had a run value of nine in 2023, per Statcast.

“Ever since I started throwing sidearm and I got more comfortable with it, I realized the harder I threw it and the more intent I threw it with, the better it was,” Lawrence told SportsNet Pittsburgh during an in-game interview Saturday. “I don’t really like to think about pitching. I go out there, I throw my fastball as hard as I can and I grab my sweeper, the grip, and throw it as hard as I can. That’s really the thought process.”

It’s a process that worked wonders in 2023, when Lawrence moved into the closer role for Colorado and recorded 11 saves. And it’s one that backfired last season, when he posted a 6.49 ERA and had almost as many walks (33) as strikeouts (45) in 56 appearances.

Like many pitchers, Lawrence struggled with the high altitude in Denver. Opponents had a 1.017 OPS against him at home against a .747 OPS on the road last season. Lawrence said he learned from former teammates Kyle Freeland and German Marquez about what adjustments to make after pitching at Coors Field compared to other venues.

“It’s taught me how to compete,” Lawrence said. “It’s taught me how to make adjustments on the fly. It’s taught me to go out there and make adjustments when I need to. Going to and from Denver can be hard.”

But his struggles weren’t contained to Coors Field.

When Lawrence allowed three earned runs on four hits, three walks and hit as many batters (two) as he struck out in posting a 9.00 ERA in two Cactus League games for the Rockies this spring, he was designated for assignment. The Pirates claimed Lawrence off waivers March 3.

One area where Lawrence remained elite was in getting ground balls, as his 52.6% rate ranked in the 90th percentile last season, per Statcast. He showed how against the heart of the Baltimore Orioles order Saturday, getting Heston Kjerstad to fly out to right field with a fullcount sweeper, Gary Sanchez to ground out to second on a 3-0 sweeper and Nick Gordon to ground out to first on a 1-0 sinker at the bottom of the strike zone.

“For me, it’s just filling up the zone, throwing strikes,” Lawrence said. “I’m just trusting that my stuff in zone is going to get guys out, especially away from Denver where it’s been a little bit more consistent. I can keep my stuff in the zone and get guys out on a regular basis.”

Pirates 4, Yankees 3

A season of battling injuries tested the perpetually positive personality of Joshua Palacios, so the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder took it as a lesson that put things into perspective.

And caused him to develop an alter ego.

After meeting with Pirates mental performance coordinator Andy Bass, Palacios worked with Todd Herman to figure out a way to separate himself from the things that sidetracked his career and focus on his success.

“It’s kind of just separating all the stuff that’s happened in the past, all the stuff that’s got in the way,” Palacios said, “and being intentional about the player that wants to show up every single day and using what I did late in games in 2023 and trying to bring that to every single atbat in games this year.”

In his first at-bat since March 7, Palacios singled and then scored the go-ahead run in the second inning in a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees in a Grapefruit League game Sunday afternoon at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Darick Hall provided the winning hit with a two-run homer 378 feet to right-center off former Pirates reliever Rob Zastryzny in the top of the ninth to break a tied game.

After hitting 10 home runs and 40 RBIs for the Pirates in 2023, including a walk-off home run to beat the Philadelphia Phillies on his 28th birthday, Palacios dealt with a calf injury and an illness last spring that caused him to be optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

He started the season making the first of several stints on the injured list, which included rehabilitation assignments with Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. Even when Palacios earned a promotion to the Pirates, he injured his left hamstring and went back on the IL.

“It was tough,” Palacios said. “Every single time I thought I was getting back, something else would get in the way. I’m looking at how I can use it to my benefit. If I can make it through that, I can do a lot more things this year. As long as we don’t go through that again, it’s only up from here.”

Palacios is out of options, so this is a make-or-break spring training for him to make the team as the fourth outfielder. He has been sidelined while dealing with left knee soreness, so his Grapefruit League numbers are limited to a .235 batting average (4 for 17) with three strikeouts, two walks and two runs scored in eight games.

After batting .291/.372/.489 with 19 doubles, five home runs and 25 RBIs at Indianapolis last year, Palacios finished the season with the Pirates. He hit .224 with a .333 on-base percentage with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs in 23 games in the majors.

“I know what I’ve done in the past. I know what I can bring to the table. And I know I’ve gotten better since that day,” Palacios said. “So it’s more about staying healthy, stacking the days, sticking to my routine, trusting this coaching staff and continually getting better and better.”