Washington Nationals activate Justin Lawrence
The Washington Nationals activated right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence on Thursday and optioned left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcements.
Lawrence, 31, joins the Nationals after he was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on June 24. He began the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA (13 ER/22.0 IP) and 25 strikeouts in 23 appearances. In seven games from April 16-May 1, he pitched 7.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, no walks and a .120 opponents’ average (3-for-25).
A native of Panama City, Panama, Lawrence was originally selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 12th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Daytona State College. In all, he has pitched in six Major League seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2021-24), Pittsburgh Pirates (2025-26) and Minnesota Twins (2026). Overall, he is 13-15 with a 5.37 ERA with 248 strikeouts and 14 saves in 229 games.