The Minnesota Twins added a new arm to the bullpen on Tuesday, and Justin Lawrence is nothing if not intriguing.

He has been wildly inconsistent in five major league seasons but is a side-armer with a unique arm slot and two great pitches, a sweeper and a sinker that touches 98 mph and has been clocked at better than 100 mph.

Lawrence was nearly untouchable in 17 relief appearances for the Pirates last season — a 0.51 earned-run average and nine hits in 17 ⅔ innings after returning from elbow inflammation that put him on the 60-day injury list in April. And yet the Pirates traded him to the Twins for cash considerations on Monday.

That’s because Lawrence, 31, was 0-2 with a 1.56 WHIP (22 hits, 12 walks) in 22 innings with Pittsburgh this spring. Twins manager Derek Shelton was his manager for the first half of that season and sees the potential.

“I love the arm slot. It’s a different look than we have in our bullpen,” he said before Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox at Target Field. “It’s 97, 98 (mph) and the sweeper is a really, really good pitch. Metrically if you look at it, it has really good action.”

The issue is control, 130 walks in 232⅔ major league innings.

“I think I’m in a better place than what you see in the stat line — mentally, physically, health wise,” Lawrence said from his new locker stall on Tuesday. “I felt like I’m in a really good spot.”

In his first full major league season, Lawrence had 11 saves and a 3.72 earned-run average in Colorado, with 78 strikeouts at 36 walks in 75 innings. But 2024 was rough — 33 walks and a 6.49 ERA in 56 innings.

“(In) 2024, kind of struggled the entire year, but I felt like I’m in a completely different head space,” Lawrence said. “My stuff feels really good.”

To make room on the active roster, the Twins optioned left-hander Kody Funderburk to Class AAA St. Paul.

Rookie Connor Prielipp made his eighth career start against the White Sox on Tuesday, and Taj Bradley was scheduled to pitch the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.

But the Twins still didn’t know who would start Thursday against Kansas City in the opener of a four-game series in Minneapolis. Starters Bailey Ober (elbow inflammation) and Kendry Rojas (triceps) are on the injured list, and Simeon Woods Richardson was designated for release on Sunday.

It could be a spot starter or a bullpen game.

“It’s TBD,” Shelton said. “It’s definitely TBD; not even close to an A. Sometimes I’ll phony up an A for you. Today I’m not. It is D.”

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