Michael Lorenzen

Tigers Notes: Lorenzen, Wentz, Vest, Haase, Rogers

By Anthony Franco | March 24, 2023 at 10:13pm CDT

Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen is going to start the season on the 15-day injured list, manager A.J. Hinch indicated this afternoon (relayed by Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). The offseason signee is dealing with a left groin strain. Hinch indicated it’s not expected to be a serious issue but will require Lorenzen to miss a couple turns through the rotation.

Detroit brought the veteran in on a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee over the winter. He and fellow free agent pickup Matthew Boyd were added to take the final couple rotation spots beyond Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull and Matt Manning.

While that’s on hold, Detroit is likely to turn to Joey Wentz as a starter, McCosky adds. The 6’5″ southpaw was first called up last May. He got into seven games during his debut campaign, working to a 3.03 ERA with a slightly below-average 20% strikeout rate. Wentz had a solid 3.17 mark across 48 1/3 frames with Triple-A Toledo. He’s gotten hit hard this spring, allowing 13 runs in 14 2/3 innings in spite of a respectable 19:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

No pitcher had a tougher go in Detroit camp than reliever Will Vest, however. The righty managed four innings over five appearances, giving up a staggering 13 runs on as many hits with only three strikeouts. That knocked him out of consideration for a season-opening bullpen job, as Detroit optioned him to Toledo this afternoon.

Vest looked to have a bullpen spot more or less sewn up entering camp. The 27-year-old worked 63 innings over 59 outings last season. He allowed exactly four earned runs per nine but posted average or better strikeout (23.2%), walk (8.1%) and ground-ball (49.7%) marks. Vest could certainly factor into the bullpen as the season goes along but will first have to earn his way back up.

Alongside Vest, Detroit optioned catcher Donny Sands this afternoon. Hinch told reporters that non-roster backstops Andrew Knapp and Michael Papierski were being reassigned to minor league camp (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press). That leaves Eric Haase and Jake Rogers as the season-opening catching duo. Haase always looked assured of a roster spot. He was one of Detroit’s most productive hitters last season and is out of options. Rogers earns the backup job as a defensive specialist, setting him up for his first MLB action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2021.

Tigers Notes: Lorenzen, Lange, Knapp

By Anthony Franco | February 13, 2023 at 7:45pm CDT

The Tigers added right-hander Michael Lorenzen on a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee earlier this offseason. He’ll add some depth to a Detroit rotation that’ll be without Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to start the season (likely the whole year in the former’s case), joining Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull, Matt Manning and Matthew Boyd in the presumptive season-opening rotation. The 31-year-old indicated today he’s hoping to expand his responsibilities beyond the mound.

Lorenzen told reporters he’s angling for an opportunity to log some at-bats this season (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). He’s dabbled with being a two-way player in years past, most notably when he combined for 87 plate appearances with the 2018-19 Reds. Lorenzen only hit once in each of his final two seasons with Cincinnati and didn’t do so at all last year with the Angels, whom he said declined his request for at-bats. The eight-year MLB veteran said this morning he devoted some time this offseason to tinkering with his swing mechanics.

Over 147 big league plate appearances, Lorenzen is a .233/.282/.429 hitter. He’s connected on seven home runs and stolen five bases in seven attempts, showing an intriguing power/speed combination. Yet his overall offensive production — while excellent compared to other pitchers — has been well worse than that of a league average hitter thanks to a meager 4.8% walk rate and huge 32% strikeout percentage. Of course, Lorenzen has never had an extended run of everyday looks at live pitching to get into a groove. Whether the Tigers are willing to give him even stray at-bats or some outfield work remains to be seen.

In other news out of the Motor City:

Reliever Alex Lange declined an opportunity to pitch for Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, telling Chris McCosky of the Detroit News he preferred to focus on the season. Lange spoke of his desire to seize the closer’s role heading into 2023. Detroit dealt last year’s primary closer, Gregory Soto, to Philadelphia last month. Andrew Chafin, Joe Jiménez and Michael Fulmer — the other three hurlers who had multiple saves for the club last year — are all on different teams as well. That’ll leave manager A.J. Hinch relying on someone (or multiple pitchers) without much closing experience in the ninth inning. Lange certainly will be in line for high-leverage innings in some capacity after striking out 30.3% of opponents with a massive 55.6% grounder rate over 63 1/3 innings. He posted a 3.41 ERA and held 21 leads in a setup capacity, with an 11.4% walk percentage the only red flag in his performance. Will Vest, José Cisnero and Jason Foley could also battle for work late in games.
While Lorenzen and Lange are sure to assume key roles on the club, catcher Andrew Knapp will fight for a roster spot this spring. The veteran backstop inked a minor league deal with Detroit on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw him log time in four different organizations. Knapp recently chatted with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press about his push for the #2 catching job behind Eric Haase. More broadly, the switch-hitter noted he’s excited to learn from Hinch — a former big league catcher — both in his desire to improve as a leader of a pitching staff and with an eye towards his longer-term future. Knapp noted he’d “really enjoy pursuing a managing career if that’s an opportunity I ever get” in his post-playing days. At age 31, he could certainly extend his playing career for a while before worrying about the next phase, starting with a push for a roster spot in Detroit. Jake Rogers — who’s returning after spending all of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery — and recent trade acquisition Donny Sands join Haase as the three backstops on the 40-man roster.

Tigers Sign Michael Lorenzen

By Anthony Franco | December 20, 2022 at 1:30pm CDT

December 20: The Tigers have officially announced the signing.

December 14: The Tigers are reportedly in agreement with free agent starter Michael Lorenzen. It’s a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee for the CAA Sports client. The deal, which is pending a physical, also contains $1.5MM in possible incentives.

Lorenzen spent one season in Orange County. Primarily a reliever over seven years with the Reds, he hit the open market for the first time last offseason in search of a rotation opportunity. Lorenzen inked a one-year, $6.75MM pact with the Halos. It was a homecoming for the Anaheim native and Cal State Fullerton product. The season didn’t go entirely as planned, though, as he lost a couple months after suffering a shoulder strain in early July.

The right-hander returned late in the season, making five starts to close out the year. He worked five-plus innings while allowing three or fewer runs in each, finishing his year on a high note despite the Angels being well out of contention. On the season, Lorenzen made 18 starts and tallied 97 2/3 innings — a bit more than 5 1/3 frames per appearance. He pitched to a decent 4.24 ERA while inducing grounders on just over half the batted balls he allowed.

It was a fairly encouraging showing, although Lorenzen’s strikeout and walk marks were a bit worse than average. His 20.7% strikeout rate was a touch below the 21.6% league mark for starters. More concerning was a 10.7% walk percentage that was more than three points higher than average. Of the 153 starters with 70+ innings pitched, only six doled out free passes more frequently than Lorenzen.

Despite his inconsistent strike-throwing, Lorenzen showed enough to intrigue the Tigers to give him a second rotation shot. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Detroit plans to use him as a starter. He becomes the second roll of the dice for first-year president of baseball operations Scott Harris and his front office. The Tigers reunited with lefty Matt Boyd on a $10MM guarantee this month, giving him a chance to right the ship after losing much of the 2022 campaign to recovery from flexor surgery.

There are certainly reasons for optimism the 30-year-old Lorenzen (31 next month) could offer solid production out of the rotation. He has a deep arsenal, relying on each of his four-seam, sinker, changeup and slider more than 20% of the time and turning to a cutter for around 10% of his offerings in 2022. His changeup generated plenty of swinging strikes and his sinker was effective both as a swing-and-miss and ground-ball offering.

Lorenzen’s well-rounded arsenal helped him limit opponents to a meager .181/.272/.278 line during their third time through the order this past season, albeit with a fairly modest 17.3% strikeout rate. From a platoon perspective, Lorenzen had similar strikeout rates and plus ground-ball numbers against hitters of either handedness. He nibbled around the strike zone far too often against southpaws, however, walking 14.4% of the left-handed batters he faced.

Boyd and Lorenzen join Eduardo Rodríguez, Matt Manning and Spencer Turnbull in the anticipated season-opening rotation. Tarik Skubal will join the group once healthy, though he’s expected to miss some time after undergoing flexor surgery in August. Joey Wentz, Beau Brieske and Alex Faedo are on hand to compete for depth roles behind that group, while Casey Mize is expected to miss most or all of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.

There’s substantial upside but also plenty of risk. Turnbull missed all of 2022 recovering from his own TJ procedure. Lorenzen, Boyd, Manning and Rodríguez lost huge stretches of the year, and Lorenzen hasn’t topped 20 starts since his 2015 rookie campaign in Cincinnati. It’s possible the Tigers look for another arm to add some stable innings to the mix, but the acquisitions of Boyd and Lorenzen suggest Harris’ staff prioritized upside over floor in their rotation pickups. That’s a sensible approach, as Detroit faces an uphill path to contention in 2023. If Boyd and/or Lorenzen can stay healthy and pitch well in the season’s first half, they’d likely be more desirable trade targets to a contender than a lower-upside innings eater would be.

With Lorenzen on the books, Detroit’s 2023 projected player payroll now sits around $124MM at Roster Resource. That’s still below this past season’s $135MM Opening Day mark, so the front office should have the freedom to identify a few more lower-cost targets of interest. Adding at catcher, third base and in the corner outfield could all be under consideration after the Tigers hit a woeful .231/.286/.346 this year.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Tigers were in agreement with Lorenzen. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report it was a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee with $1.5MM in performance incentives.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Angels’ GM Perry Minasian On Ohtani, Rotation, Coaching Staff

By Anthony Franco | October 6, 2022 at 11:05pm CDT

The Angels have already gotten a head start on some notable offseason business, both regarding the roster and its clubhouse leadership. In recent days, the Halos both avoided arbitration with the reigning AL MVP and finalized their managerial situation heading into 2023.

Over the weekend, the club and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani agreed to a $30MM salary for next season. The one-year pact avoided the possibility of what would’ve been the most fascinating arbitration case ever, with no clear precedent for a player of Ohtani’s talents. The sides won’t need to go anywhere near a hearing room, though, with the two-time All-Star instead agreeing to the largest salary for an arbitration-eligible player in big league history.

While the Halos are surely relieved to have Ohtani’s case settled, there are still plenty of questions about his long-term future in Orange County. The 2023 campaign is the final year in which he’s under club control, and Los Angeles heads into the winter coming off another disappointing season. General manager Perry Minasian met with reporters this afternoon (links via Sam Blum of the Athletic and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register), and while he didn’t offer any specifics about Ohtani’s situation, he unsurprisingly indicated he’d be thrilled to keep him beyond next season. “I think it’s Step 1,” Minasian said of avoiding arbitration. “Hopefully there are more steps down the road. … I’d love to have him here for a long time.”

That’s obviously not a firm declaration about Ohtani’s future, but it stands to reason Minasian and his staff will look to engage his reps at CAA at some point over the winter. They’ll surely receive calls from other teams inquiring about his availability in trade as well. The Halos obviously would’ve received ample interest in Ohtani at this past deadline, but owner Arte Moreno reportedly quashed any potential for a deal early in the process. Not long thereafter, Moreno announced he was looking into the possibility of selling the franchise.

Minasian told reporters he wasn’t aware of the status of the sales process, little surprise since he’s not involved in that decision. Asked whether it’d impact the club’s budget, the front office leader largely demurred. Minasian noted that ownership “still wants to put a good team on the field” and “is really competitive” but didn’t reveal any specifics about the franchise’s 2023 payroll outlook. The Halos opened the 2022 season with a player payroll north of $188MM, a franchise record figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They already have roughly $133MM committed to next year’s books, in the estimation of Roster Resource. That’s before accounting for an arbitration class that includes Luis Rengifo, Jared Walsh and Super Two qualifiers Taylor Ward and Patrick Sandoval.

Working in the Halos favor, however, is that Minasian and his group aren’t faced with the losses of too many key contributors. Aside from Kurt Suzuki, who has already announced his retirement, the Halos stand to see Michael Lorenzen, Matt Duffy and Archie Bradley hit the open market. Lorenzen is the only member of that group who was relatively effective this year. Signed to a $6.75MM free agent deal, he pitched to a 4.24 ERA across 18 starts. Minasian suggested they could look to retain him via free agency, although he also noted the team wasn’t firmly committed to redeploying a six-man rotation again next season. The Halos have run with a six-man staff in recent years, in part to reduce the workload Ohtani has to shoulder on the mound. “I wouldn’t rule it out,” the GM said of a five-man rotation. “But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. There’s a balance there. Is the risk worth the reward?”

Minasian also addressed the coaching staff, noting that the club is still evaluating whether to make changes in that area. Phil Nevin will be back as skipper after signing a one-year deal yesterday, but it’s to be determined whether his staff will remain in place. Asked about the short term of Nevin’s first permanent managerial contract, Minasian said the club will “(see) where it goes next year and (go) from there, but my hope and my expectation is that this is a long-term thing.” Of course, the long-term future of the organization will be determined in large part by the direction any incoming ownership group plans to take. Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests the franchise sale price could run as high as $2.5 billion, although the identities of the groups currently in talks with Moreno and his staff haven’t been publicly reported.

Angels Designate Ryan Aguilar For Assignment

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2022 at 1:06pm CDT

The Angels announced Friday that outfielder Ryan Aguilar has been designated for assignment, and right-hander Touki Toussaint has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. That pair of roster spots will go to righty Michael Lorenzen and outfielder Mickey Moniak, each of whom has been reinstated from the injured list.

Aguilar, 27, made his big league debut this year after six years in the minors. He appeared in just seven games with the Halos, hitting .136/.231/.182 in a tiny sample of 26 trips to the plate. He had a much better showing with the Halos’ Double-A affiliate, where he turned in a .280/.427/.517 with 15 homers, 13 doubles, three triples, 11 steals and a ridiculous 19% walk rate in 348 plate appearances. Strikeouts have been an issue in the minors, however, and Aguilar fanned in 14 of his 26 Major League plate appearances as well (53.8%).

A 31st-round draft pick by the Brewers back in 2016, Aguilar was in Milwaukee’s system until last August, when he was released on the heels of a dismal showing in their own Double-A affiliate. He’s still never played a game at the Triple-A level. The Angels will place Aguilar on either outright waivers or release waivers within the week, now that he’s been dropped from the 40-man roster. He’s never been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of Major League service time, so if Aguilar clears waivers, he’ll remain with the Angels organization (sans the 40-man roster spot).

Lorenzen, who carries a 4.94 ERA in 71 innings this season (13 starts), has been out since July 1 due to a shoulder strain. He inked a one-year, $7MM deal with the Angels over the winter and will again be a free agent this coming offseason. Moniak, acquired in the deadline trade that sent Noah Syndergaard to Philadelphia, went 4-for-14 with a pair of homers in his first 15 plate appearances with the Angels, but he suffered a broken finger on a bunt attempt during just his fifth game with his new team. He missed just over a month of action.

Injury Notes: Castellanos, Lorenzen, Taylor

By Darragh McDonald | September 3, 2022 at 10:42pm CDT

Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos left last night’s game and wasn’t in today’s lineup due to an issue with his right oblique. He is headed for an MRI but manager Rob Thomson is hopeful that this is just precautionary (Twitter links from Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

Signed in the offseason to a five-year, $100MM contract, the first few months of his tenure in Philly didn’t go so well, though he had turned things around over the past month. Through the end of July, he was hitting just .257/.300/.373 but has hit .294/.327/.490 since the calendar flipped to August. That progress seems to have now hit a couple of snags, as he already missed a few games earlier this week due to turf toe, with this oblique issue now added into the mix.

Castellanos has yet to be placed on the injured list, but losing his hot bat for even a few games will be a setback for the club. The Phillies are currently holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the National League, with the Brewers just three games back. With Bryce Harper unable to throw and taking the designated hitter spot every day, Castellanos will likely have a tough time getting back into the lineup until he feels well enough to play a full game. The Phillies used an outfield of Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh and Matt Vierling tonight, with that trio likely to be the regulars until Castellanos can return. Nick Maton is primarily an infielder but has four left field starts in his career and might be the fourth outfielder for now.

Other injury updates from around the league…

Angels righty Michael Lorenzen, who has been on the IL since July 7 due to a shoulder strain, has been on a rehab stint but will make his next start with the big league club. J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group relays the news from interim manager Phil Nevin. That will give Lorenzen a few weeks to showcase his abilities before heading back to free agency this winter. Long used as a reliever by the Reds, he signed with the Angels when they agreed to let him try himself out as a starter. He had a 3.45 ERA through mid-June, having made ten starts. Unfortunately, he allowed 16 earned runs over his next three, ballooning his ERA 4.94. The righty will get a chance to wash away that latter section as an injury blip and finish strong before returning to the open market. The Angels will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for him, as he is currently on the 60-day IL.
Red Sox lefty Josh Taylor, who has been on the IL all year due to a low back strain, will not return over the final few weeks of the campaign. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe relays word from the club that it will go down as a completely lost season for the 29-year-old. It’s an unfortunate development for both Taylor and the club as he had a very nice season in 2021. Last year, he threw 47 2/3 innings with a 3.40 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate and 43.4% ground ball rate. His 11% walk rate was a bit above the 9.8% league average for relievers last year, but it was still a strong enough showing that the club gave him the chance to earn 15 holds on the year. Taylor qualified for arbitration the first time this year as a Super Two player and is making $1.025MM for the season. Based on not appearing this season, he could likely be retained by the Red Sox at a similar price for next season, if they expect he can return to health and recapture his previous form.

AL Notes: Lorenzen, Taylor, Grandal

By Darragh McDonald | August 22, 2022 at 6:54pm CDT

Angels righty Michael Lorenzen began a rehab assignment yesterday, throwing 47 pitches over three innings for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. He went on the injured list July 7, retroactive to July 4, due to a shoulder strain. He was eventually transferred to the 60-day IL, meaning he isn’t eligible to be activated until September 2.

The return of Lorenzen won’t be terribly significant for the Angels, since they are 13 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and won’t be in competition during the final weeks of the season. However, it will be an important stretch for Lorenzen personally as he will be heading back into free agency in a few months.

During his time with the Reds, he was frequently deployed as a reliever. But when he reached free agency, he went looking for an opportunity to return to starting, which he found with the Angels. Signed to a one-year, $6.75MM deal, Lorenzen’s return to the rotation went well for a few months. He had a 3.45 ERA through mid-June, having made ten starts. Unfortunately, he allowed 16 earned runs over his next three, ballooning his ERA 4.94. At this point, one could argue that Lorenzen proved himself a capable starter that was just waylaid by an injury, while a pessimist could say he proved he’s better suited to shorter stints out of the bullpen. Teams on the lookout for pitching this winter will keep an eye on how he fares in the coming weeks, with Lorenzen surely hoping to tip the scales with a strong finish to the campaign.

Some other notes from around the Junior Circuit…

Astros lefty Blake Taylor is being pulled off his rehab assignment, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. General manager James Click says that Taylor is dealing with “posterior elbow discomfort.” Taylor’s been on the IL since June due to elbow discomfort. Click tried to downplay the update, but the fact that the rehab is being paused is noteworthy. With just over six weeks remaining in the season, there’s not much time left to restart a rehab and get back to the team. The club has been shorthanded in terms of left-handed relief all year, with Taylor’s 16 innings leading the team. Deadline acquisition Will Smith is currently the only southpaw in the bullpen. However, it seems the team can probably do just fine regardless, as lefties have hit just .217/.299/.299 against Houston’s bullpen overall this year.
White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal left Saturday’s game with an obvious injury, having to be helped off the field. With only about six weeks left on the schedule, some folks were understandably worried that his season might have ended right then and there. Thankfully, it’s been nothing but good news since. Yesterday, the club announced that further testing revealed no serious damage and that Grandal could return to action in 10-14 days. Today, Grandal is walking around the clubhouse as if the injury never occurred, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Manager Tony La Russa says that Grandal is getting treatment but also swinging in the cage already. The backstop is having a down year, particularly in the power department. He only has three homers on the season, after hitting more than 20 in each of the previous five full seasons. But he still walks in 12.4% of his plate appearances and could be a difference maker if he can quickly return to health and rediscover his power stroke.

Angels Notes: Trout, Lorenzen, Duffy, Bradley, Moniak, Iglesias

By Mark Polishuk | August 13, 2022 at 8:22am CDT

Mike Trout has been cleared to run and throw, and the former MVP is scheduled to take batting practice on the field today. Trout and Angels head trainer Mike Frostad spoke with reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) yesterday, with Trout expressing confidence that he’ll be able to return to the lineup “sooner rather than later.” A more specific timeline isn’t yet known, as Trout may require a minor league rehab assignment.

Trout has now missed a full month of action due to left ribcage inflammation and back spasms, and Frostad’s past update about Trout’s larger-scale back problems (a costovertebral dysfunction) left concern over both Trout’s short-term and near-term future. Given that Trout ended up missing almost all of the 2021 season due to a calf problem that just kept lingering, fans probably won’t be fully relieved until they actually see Trout back on the field, no matter this latest positive news about his rib injury.

Angels Select Mike Mayers

By James Hicks | August 6, 2022 at 12:09pm CDT

The Angels selected the contract of right-hander Mike Mayers, the team announced today. To make room for Mayers on their 40-man roster, the club transferred right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the 60-day IL. A spot on the active roster had been cleared last night, when the team optioned righty Janson Junk to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Though he’s had some success in an Angels uniform, 2022 has been a struggle for Mayers. The 30-year-old logged a 5.40 ERA (5.81 FIP) in 16 2/3 innings before accepting an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake after he went unclaimed following a late-May designation. Things didn’t go much better for him in the minors, though he was stretched out as a starter. The righty notched a 6.27 ERA in 33 innings across 8 Triple-A appearances (all starts).

While he’ll be given another chance to establish himself in the majors, Mayers remains a strong non-tender candidate in the offseason, as he’d be in line for a raise from this year’s $2.15MM salary. Regardless, he should get an opportunity to latch on somewhere, as he’s pitched quite effectively in the fairly recent past, including a combined 105 innings of 3.34 ERA ball between 2020 and 2021. Across parts of seven seasons between the Cardinals and Angels, Mayers has struck out 24.5% and walked 8.4% of the batters he’s faced (both a tick better than league average) and owns a 4.98 ERA (4.30 FIP) in 202 1/3 innings.

Angels Place Michael Lorenzen On IL With Shoulder Strain

By Darragh McDonald | July 9, 2022 at 9:40pm CDT

TODAY: Manager Phil Nevin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) that the MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage to Lorenzen’s shoulder. The plan is for Lorenzen to start a throwing program after he finishes getting treatment.

JULY 7: The Angels announced that they have placed starter Michael Lorenzen on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain. The move is retroactive to July 4. Right-hander Jose Marte has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

Lorenzen, 30, had spent his entire career with the Reds until reaching free agency last year. Cincy had used him primarily as a relief pitcher, though Lorenzen went into the open market hoping for an opportunity to join a starting rotation. The Angels stepped up and gave him that chance, signing him to a one-year, $6.75MM deal. So far, he’s made 13 starts and thrown 71 innings. In that time, he has an 18.1% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. All told, he has a 4.94 ERA, though advanced metrics are a little more bullish, with Lorenzen having a 4.57 SIERA and 4.46 FIP.

Those numbers probably belie how effective Lorenzen has been, as his last three starts have been awful, perhaps due to this shoulder ailment starting to crop up. Those three turns resulted in 16 earned runs, causing those numbers to shoot upwards. Up until that point, he had a 3.69 ERA, 4.46 SIERA and 3.82 FIP.

The Angels haven’t provided a timeline for Lorenzen’s absence but more information should be forthcoming in the days ahead. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic was among those to relay that Lorenzen is headed for the MRI machine soon. But regardless of the length of his absence, this situation has the potential for significant ramifications. For the Angels, they are losing a solid member of their starting rotation at a key time. The club is 38-45, seven games back of the Blue Jays for the final AL Wild Card spot, with five teams in between them. The August 2 trade deadline is now just over three weeks away, meaning the club will have to make some tough decisions about how to approach it.

Though the club would surely love to climb back into the race, they will now have to do so without Lorenzen. If they are unable to get hot in the next few weeks, they will have to give consideration to flipping players with short windows of control. With the demand for starting pitching seeming to be outpacing the supply, any serviceable starting pitcher will be highly sought after. The Angels have both Noah Syndergaard and Lorenzen on one-year deals, making them logical candidates to be moved in the coming weeks, though this injury could perhaps scuttle the chances of a Lorenzen deal. Even if he is able to return to health and rejoin the team before the deadline, the injury concern will likely reduce the return that the Angels are able to demand in any deal.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Michael Lorenzen

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect