PITTSBURGH - Luke Weaver has found a very simple way to keep himself going: orange juice.
That’s not a throwaway line, either. The Pirates’ new high-leverage reliever says he reaches for it four or five times a day, and he’s not shy about why.
“I think it's delicious,” Weaver told MLB.com minutes before grabbing a fresh plastic cup of OJ. “I think it's helpful.
I think if you want to get nutritionally deep into it, it has a lot of benefits that keeps the mind and the body energized in different ways. And it just tastes freaking good.”
Pittsburgh brought Weaver in from the Mets at the Trade Deadline, sending No. 10 prospect Sammy Stafura the other way in hopes of stabilizing a bullpen that needed help. So far, the move has done exactly what the Pirates wanted.
Weaver has posted a 2.30 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP this year, even with three earned runs allowed on Aug. 15.
The 32-year-old has added more than numbers to the mix. He arrived with World Series experience, a positive presence and a personality that shows up quickly. Orange juice, naturally, has become part of the package.
“I’m probably drinking it four or five times a day. It's just pick-me-ups,” Weaver said.
“I drink coffee, but it’s just a little bit of a healthier, easier way to establish and keep the energy mainstream. Easy carbs … I mean, we could sit for an hour and talk about it.”
The OJ obsession traces back to a joke that stuck. In 2024, as Weaver was establishing himself as the Yankees’ closer, the YES Network asked what had caused a jump in velocity. Instead of leaning on the usual baseball clichés, he credited orange juice.
Two years later, Weaver says he likes keeping that side of himself visible. He doesn’t want interviews to sound too “robotic,” and he wants fans to get a sense of who he is. But the orange juice line wasn’t just for laughs.
According to “Healthline,” orange juice is rich in vitamin C, folate and potassium, and studies have shown that long-term orange juice consumption lowered levels of both total and “bad” LDL cholesterol. Weaver said he prefers organic juice, though he’s fine with pulp or no-pulp.
“I've just kind of kept that lighthearted joke,” Weaver said. “But I do drink a lot of orange juice.”
On the field, the juice seems to be working. Weaver comes in with energy to spare, often sprinting from the bullpen to the edge of the infield for his umpire check-in.
His road to Pittsburgh began a decade ago in St. Louis, where he broke in as a starter and remained in rotations through stops in Arizona and Cincinnati, while also working out of the bullpen in Kansas City and Seattle.
Then came his chance in relief with the Yankees in 2024.
That year, Weaver helped New York reach the AL pennant, throwing 84 innings with a 2.89 ERA. He saved four games in the regular season, then sharpened further in October, finishing the postseason with four saves and a 1.76 ERA.
Mason Montgomery said Weaver and veteran Kirby Yates carry an “aura” because of what they’ve done in big spots. Weaver, though, says the pressure never really disappears. The game can slow down, but the challenges don’t.
His current stretch has looked different than the one that defined him in New York. Pittsburgh overhauled its bullpen at the Deadline, and with the offense only recently finding more life, Weaver still hasn’t had a save chance.
He was 50/50 on whether he’d be moved, wanted to remain in New York, and was among the Mets players told to stay back in New York on Aug. 3 instead of traveling to Cleveland. He was dealt to the Pirates midday before the Deadline and pitched just once in his first 10 days with the club.
“It’s not easy. It’s not something you prepare for.
It’s not something that anybody’s got a recipe for. I’m learning as I go.
This whole month has been a bit of a blur,” Weaver said.
For now, the Pirates expect him to work mostly in the eighth or ninth innings alongside Montgomery. And if Weaver keeps bringing the same energy to those spots, the orange juice routine isn’t going anywhere.
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