Right-hander Casey Lawrence has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. The righty was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier this week. He has the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.
Lawrence, 37, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners at the start of the week. The Jays were facing a bit of a pitching crunch at the time. They had optioned left-hander Easton Lucas to drop down to a four-man rotation. Then a rainout in the Bronx led to a doubleheader and the staff getting a condensed workload on the weekend.
The Jays then got bombed by the Red Sox on Tuesday, with starter Bowden Francis getting pulled after allowing seven earned runs in three innings. After Dillon Tate and Mason Fluharty combined to cover 3 1/3 frames, Lawrence took the final 2 2/3. He allowed three earned runs on six hits while recording one strikeout. Left-hander Eric Lauer was then called up to give the Jays another guy capable of covering multiple innings, with Lawrence bumped off as the corresponding move.
There is clearly some appeal in Lawrence’s services, in this exact type of role. The Mariners have added him to their roster three times this year. In each case, he made an appearance or two before getting quickly designated for assignment. He is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without being removed from the 40-man roster entirely. He has the right to reject outright assignments, as mentioned.
The first two times Seattle bumped him off the roster, he elected free agency and returned on a fresh deal. The third time, he was claimed by the Jays, who utilized him in the same way. Now perhaps he will sign another fresh pact with one of those two clubs. Both clearly value his ability to mop up garbage innings as part of regular roster churn.
He has a 4.97 earned run average through 12 2/3 innings this year and a 6.59 ERA in 136 2/3 career innings. He recently spoke about his situation in self-aware terms, realizing that he may not have much time left in the majors, so he’s trying to appreciate the present before thinking about the next stage of his career. With several clubs dealing with pitching injuries around the league, he should be able to latch on somewhere else soon.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
Guess who he signs a minor league deal with. Hint – they are the team that is furthest away from all other teams.
Korean League?
Some guys buy a house in their teams city to live out of. Some guys get an apartment instead, never know where they may be next year.
This poor guy must live out of a Motel 6.
I just know he’s hosing down some hotel waffles every morning
I’m going to presume the Mariners, Blue Jays or Cardinals are going to pick him up.
bro has been living in hotels the past month
nah, hes been pitching in Tacoma and Seattle all year so no need to move between those clubs and probably never made the trip to Toronto. Just stayed back in Tacoma waiting to sign another minor league deal with them
Bro has been living in hotels most of his career.
Probably gets all of his expenses paid for flights and rooms, and he gets a couple hundred thousand dollars a year in salary. All that just to throw a ball for 6 months per.
Another day, another Casey Lawrence update.
Casey and Jesse Chavez should have a Hell in a Cell match. Winner does not get DFA’d ever again loser has to retire.
Bring him home, Dipoto!