# Brett Lawrie
**Brett Lawrie** (full name Brett Russell Lawrie, born 1990 in [Langley, British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/langley-british-columbia)) is a Canadian former professional baseball infielder who played six seasons in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball), primarily at third base and second base, for the [Toronto Blue Jays](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-blue-jays), Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox from 2011 to 2016.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) Once ranked among the top prospects in the sport, he finished his major league career with a .261 average, 71 home runs, and a .734 OPS in 2,217 at-bats, his playing time repeatedly cut short by injuries.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990, Langley, BC, Canada; 6'0", 210 lb; bats and throws right[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) |
| Draft | 1st round, 16th overall, 2008, by the Milwaukee Brewers; signed for $1,700,000, the highest draft position to date for a Canadian position player[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/) • [3](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/2008_Amateur_Draft) |
| MLB debut | August 5, 2011, with Toronto; batted .293/.373/.580 as a 21-year-old rookie[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) • [4](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/2008-mlb-draft-do-over-c279247834.html) |
| Career MLB line | 2,217 AB, .261 AVG, 71 HR, 253 RBI, 41 SB, .734 OPS in six seasons (2011–2016)[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) |
| Best season | 2015 with Oakland: career highs of 16 home runs, 149 games, 562 at-bats, and 29 doubles[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) |
| Notable trade | Sent from Toronto to Oakland on November 28, 2014 with Sean Nolin, Kendall Graveman, and Franklin Barreto for Josh Donaldson[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) |
| Final MLB game | 2016 with the Chicago White Sox; released March 3, 2017, and did not appear in a major league game afterward[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) • [5](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/) |
## Amateur career and draft
Lawrie came out of Brookswood Secondary School in Langley, British Columbia, as one of the most prominent Canadian amateur hitters of his generation. He was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship, where he led the tournament with a .469 average, three home runs, and 16 RBI, and he was selected to play for Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) Baseball Canada noted that his selection made him the fourth-highest Canadian ever taken in the draft's history at that point.[6](https://baseball.ca/brett-lawrie-selected-16th-overall-in-mlb-draft)
The [Milwaukee Brewers](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee-brewers) made him the 16th overall pick of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, making him the highest-drafted Canadian position player to that date, and signed him for $1.7 million.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/) • [3](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/2008_Amateur_Draft) Scouts debated whether he was the best Canadian hitting prospect since [Justin Morneau](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-morneau) or [Larry Walker](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-walker), and several graded his power as above average, if not 70, on the 20–80 scouting scale.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/) He had signed a letter of intent with Arizona State, but the scouting consensus was that his present hitting ability would keep him out of college.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/)
## Minor leagues and the trade to Toronto
Lawrie agreed to try catching after signing, but before his professional debut he asked to move to second base, which he believed offered a faster route to the majors.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/) He began 2009 with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League, was selected for the World Team at that year's All-Star Futures Game, and finished the season with a promotion to Double-A Huntsville.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434)
Still with Huntsville in 2010 and used solely as a second baseman, he topped the Double-A Southern League with 158 hits, 16 triples, 90 runs, and 60 extra-base hits, even though he was the league's second-youngest everyday player.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) That performance made him the trade chip [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee) used for pitching: in December 2010, at the Winter Meetings, the Brewers sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays for right-hander Shaun Marcum.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/) • [7](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/all-time-brewers-top-draft-picks.html) Toronto had coveted Lawrie in the 2008 draft, one pick before its own first selection.[8](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2008-amateur-draft-the-al-east/)
## Toronto Blue Jays, 2011–2014
Lawrie opened 2011 at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit .353 with 18 home runs and led the [Pacific Coast League](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-coast-league) with a .661 slugging percentage and 1.076 OPS, and [Baseball America](https://www.edgepedia.org/baseball-america) named him the PCL's top prospect after the season.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) A broken left hand suffered on a hit-by-pitch delayed his expected May promotion to August.[9](https://www.mlb.com/news/blue-jays-major-league-debuts) He debuted on August 5, 2011, becoming the 15th Canadian to play for the Blue Jays, singled off Tommy Hunter in his first at-bat, and hit nine home runs with 25 RBI in 43 games; at the time of a September finger injury he led major league rookies in triples, slugging, and OPS since his debut.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) He was named to Baseball America's Major League All-Rookie Team.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434)
His first full season, 2012, brought 125 games, 11 home runs, and a .319 average against left-handed pitching, along with the Wilson Team Defensive Player of the Year award for the Blue Jays.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) That season also produced two memorable moments: on April 22 he stole home on the front end of a double steal, the 16th steal of home in franchise history, and on May 1 he hit a walk-off home run against Texas.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) On May 15, after a called third strike, he threw his helmet, which struck an umpire, and received a four-game suspension, which he dropped an appeal of and served immediately.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) • [5](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/)
Injuries then shaped the rest of his Toronto tenure. In 2013 he missed 55 games over two disabled-list stints with a left oblique strain and a left ankle sprain, though he hit .346 in August and was named the Toronto chapter of the BBWAA's Player of the Month.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) In 2014 a fractured right index finger and a strained oblique limited him to 70 games, in which he batted .247 with 12 home runs.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) Defensively, evaluators rated him highly at third base; one 2014 comparison noted that DRS rated him the second-best [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league) third baseman since 2008 and UZR the best.[10](https://www.camdenchat.com/2014/3/7/5463482/a-l-east-third-basemen-comparison-machado-longoria-middlebrooks-johnson-lawrie)
## Oakland, Chicago, and the end of his career
On November 28, 2014, Toronto traded Lawrie, along with left-hander Sean Nolin, right-hander Kendall Graveman, and shortstop Franklin Barreto, to Oakland for third baseman [Josh Donaldson](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-donaldson).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) Lawrie stayed healthy for the only time in his career in 2015, playing a career-high 149 games and hitting .260 with career highs of 16 home runs and 29 doubles, though he also committed a career-high 24 errors, second in the American League, and his defensive ratings fell at both third and second base.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) • [11](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/brett-lawries-search-for-past-success-moves-to-chicago/) His plate discipline deteriorated over his final three seasons: his walk rate fell from 6.8% to 5.7% to 4.7% from 2013 to 2015 while his strikeout rate rose from 15.4% to 17.4% to 23.9%, and he saw the fourth-lowest rate of fastballs among qualified hitters as pitchers fed him breaking pitches.[11](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/brett-lawries-search-for-past-success-moves-to-chicago/)
On December 9, 2015, Oakland traded him to the [Chicago White Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-white-sox) for right-hander J.B. Wendelken and left-hander Zack Erwin.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) A strained left hamstring limited him to 94 games in 2016, in which he hit 12 home runs, including his first career multi-homer game with an [inside-the-park home run](https://www.edgepedia.org/inside-the-park-home-run) against Toronto on June 25.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) The White Sox released him on March 3, 2017, and he did not play in organized baseball again until February 2019, when he signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers worth a maximum of $7 million with a 2020 club option.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) • [5](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/) Milwaukee released him on June 18, 2019, without his appearing in a game at any level.[5](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/)
## Assessment
Lawrie's career is a study in early promise and physical attrition. In the minors he hit .295 with a .850 OPS, and in his 2011 rookie stint he produced one of the stronger debuts in Blue Jays history, with five home runs in his first 21 career games, a total only [Carlos Delgado](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlos-delgado) and Devon Travis exceeded among the franchise's fastest starters.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434) A 2018 retrospective placed his career WAR of 15.1 sixth among 2008 draftees who signed, with the note that he would rank higher had his career continued.[4](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/2008-mlb-draft-do-over-c279247834.html) His final major league line, .261/.315/.419, came in parts of six seasons in which he never again matched the health of 2015.[5](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/)
Athleticism runs in his family: his sister Danielle, a softball player at the University of Washington, won Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year honors on two occasions and later pitched for the USSSA Pride of National Pro Fastpitch.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434)
## References
1. [Brett Lawrie player page, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/brett-lawrie-543434)
2. [Brett Lawrie Stats & Scouting Report, Baseball America](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/5210-brett-lawrie/)
3. [2008 Amateur Draft, BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/2008_Amateur_Draft)
4. [2008 MLB Draft do-over, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/2008-mlb-draft-do-over-c279247834.html)
5. [Brett Lawrie player news, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/1665386/brett-lawrie/)
6. [Brett Lawrie Selected 16th Overall in MLB Draft, Baseball Canada](https://baseball.ca/brett-lawrie-selected-16th-overall-in-mlb-draft)
7. [All-time Brewers top Draft picks, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/all-time-brewers-top-draft-picks.html)
8. [2008 Amateur Draft Review: The AL East, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2008-amateur-draft-the-al-east/)
9. [Blue Jays Major League debuts, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/blue-jays-major-league-debuts)
10. [Comparing the A.L. East third basemen, Camden Chat](https://www.camdenchat.com/2014/3/7/5463482/a-l-east-third-basemen-comparison-machado-longoria-middlebrooks-johnson-lawrie)
11. [Brett Lawrie's Search for Past Success Moves to Chicago, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/brett-lawries-search-for-past-success-moves-to-chicago/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Third basemen*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license