Justin Lawrence Working Way Back From ‘Frustrating’ Injury With Clear Motivation
Justin Lawrence flawlessly passed his first impression with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates claimed the right-hander from the Colorado Rockies during spring training on March 3 after he was placed on waivers.
Following a rough 2024 season in Colorado in which he posted a 6.49 ERA, Lawrence began the season with the Pirates by allowing just one run on five hits with 15 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.
The 30-year-old credits the confidence the Pirates showed in him from the beginning as the biggest reason for his early success.
“Hearing them tell me to just go out there and my stuff is good enough to just throw it down the middle, and let it play, and let it take the shape it does, it gave me a lot of confidence,” he explained. “That was the biggest thing for me.”
Unfortunately for Lawrence, his promising start to the season was derailed by right elbow inflammation, which currently has him on the 60-day injured list.
The Pirates originally placed Lawrence on the 15-day injured list two days after an appearance against the Los Angeles Angels on Apr. 22.
Given how well he started the season, the injury that’s kept him out now for two and a half months was even more disappointing.
“It is frustrating in terms of getting an opportunity with a new team and starting off the way I did,” said Lawrence. “Really just wanted to use this year as an opportunity to prove to the Pirates that I could stay here for a long time and that I could have success here for a long time. Kind of getting sidelined there, it was frustrating.”
Entering this season, Lawrence had only been on the injured list one time during his big-league career. It happened last year, when he missed three weeks due to a right shoulder strain.
Dealing with a prolonged injury like the one he currently has is a new experience for Lawrence, and he’s learned some lessons from it.
“I’ve never really had a mid-to-long-term injury like this before, so there’s a lot of patience involved, there’s a lot of trusting the staff. Just knowing that taking this time and getting back right is a lot more important than trying to rush it and get back just to get back.”
Lawrence received a PRP injection in May and was sidelined from throwing for a few weeks, but he’s since started a throwing program. He’ll need to continue to get stretched out before he steps back onto a mound, eventually for bullpen sessions, live BPs and a rehab assignment. But Lawrence is pleased to be progressing towards his anticipated return.
“I’m feeling good,” he said. “It’s a long process when you go those weeks upon weeks without even touching a baseball. It gets a little tedious, but you just gotta understand that’s kind of part of the process of getting back.”
While injuries are frustrating for any player, Lawrence has stayed motivated through the recovery process because of his stellar start to the season and the vote of confidence the Pirates showed in him from the get-go.
Once he does return to the mound, the goal is to pick up right where he left off.
“Coming back, I want to show them that I’m continuing on that same trend, whether it’s velocity being the same, or the results being the same, or whatever it is,” he said. “I’m gonna do the work that needs to be done behind the scenes, behind the cameras and all that to come back and show them that. I might only get another month in, so at the end of the season, I’d have two months. Try and give my best one-third of a season I can give them.”
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