Report: Justin Lawrence placed on waivers by Rockies

Justin Lawrence pitched in more Colorado Rockies games than anyone else in the last four seasons. But that wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster heading into a fifth.

The Rockies placed Lawrence on waivers, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

While there was some surprise in national circles about the Rockies’ decision, it actually wasn’t a great shock for multiple reasons.

First is the Rockies’ restructuring of the bullpen, revolving mostly around young arms, including fireballing Victor Vodnik — who made 64 appearances last year — Angel Chivilli, Seth Halvorsen and Luis Peralta, who came aboard in the deadline trade of Jalen Beeks to Milwaukee.

Veteran presence in the bullpen is expected to come from recent pickup Scott Alexander and Tyler Kinley, the latter of whom led the Rockies in saves last year with 12. Alexander, a lefty, had a 2.56 ERA with the Athletics last year, although he had two stints on the injured list.

Last year, Lawrence’s numbers ballooned. His WHIP rose from from 1.347 to 1.777; FIP — fielding-independent ERA — soared from 3.76 to 5.73, and his home-runs-per-9-innings rate more than doubled, from 0.6 to 1.4.

Lawrence’s strikeout-to-walk ration of 1.36 was also the worst since his 2021 rookie season. This spring, he allowed 3 earned runs, 4 hits and 3 walks in 3 innings of work over 3 appearances.