MIAMI — The Phillies' interest in Michael Lorenzen dated back to the offseason.
They considered signing him, but he wanted a team to commit to him in the rotation after he made 18 starts for the 2022 Angels. He found that team in the Tigers, who inked him to a one-year contract worth $8.5 million.
Lorenzen's desire to start has paid off during a career year. He has a 3.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 105⅔ innings. His ERA since the beginning of May is 3.04. He's pitched with impressive efficiency this season, averaging 14.6 pitches per inning over his last 15 starts. The league average is 16.7.
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The Phils acquired him Tuesday afternoon from Detroit for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee, their No. 5 prospect, according to MLB.com.
"We've liked Lorenzen for a while," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "He's a guy that has pitched well for them all year. He was even a guy we inquired about in the wintertime. But he was in a position where he really wanted a commitment to be a starting pitcher at that point. We could not give him that commitment.
"(Pitching coach) Caleb Cotham goes back with him a long time. They've been together. He highly recommended him. So we've watched him for a while."
Lorenzen's versatility to start and relieve, which he did from 2016-21, appealed to the Phillies. He's also a good hitter, though the Phillies won't use him in that role. He was a two-way player for the Reds in 2018 and 2019 and hit .241/.302/.468 with five homers and 16 RBI in 87 plate appearances. Included in there was a game against the Phillies when Lorenzen hit a two-run homer and pitched two innings of relief to earn the win.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils will use Lorenzen in a six-man rotation for the next two weeks and then decide their next course after the August 14 off-day. Like Cristopher Sanchez, Lorenzen is coming up on his career-high in innings. He's just eight away, and he set that mark eight years ago.
The Phillies prioritized getting more rest for their starting pitchers. They saw last November how important it is to have fresh arms.
"He was really a guy who was one of the few people on our list that we thought could start effectively and relieve if we got to that point later on, do bulk," Dombrowski said. "We didn't get him to do that. We're going to a six-man rotation to start off right now. We're going to handle it that way. He pitched in the All-Star Game. He has good stuff. A high draft choice in the past. He's always been someone who is a quality major-league pitcher."
Lorenzen also protects the rotation against an ill-timed injury. They've been pretty healthy this season. Rhys Hoskins is out with a torn ACL, Bryce Harper missed the first month coming back from Tommy John surgery, Seranthony Dominguez missed a month with an oblique strain, a forearm injury cost Ranger Suarez the first five weeks, and Jose Alvarado has missed about two months with separate bouts of elbow inflammation. That might seem like a lot, but it's not compared to most other teams.
"For me, there are still about 60 games to play, that means guys are going to start a bunch of times," Dombrowski said. "I've always felt that it's not always the best but the healthiest pitchers when you get to the postseason. Our guys have thrown a lot of innings over the last couple of years. And to me, the depth behind our five guys in the rotation — Cristopher Sanchez included in that because he's really stepped up — we didn't feel was as deep if something happened to someone.
"Adding someone like Lorenzen really changes that. We're also in a spot where we also have Nick Nelson. We do like the young kid (Griff) McGarry who's continued to progress. I don't know that Mick Abel's ready but he's also got good stuff. We really thought it was important to get somebody to protect us.
"If you would've told me our five guys stay healthy the rest of the year, we could've filled that six spot internally. We could've brought up Bailey Falter, we could've brought up Nelson, we could've brought McGarry, we could've done a Matt Strahm-Dylan Covey type of thing. But the reality is that if something happened to one of the guys, we just didn't feel comfortable going forward with doing that the rest of the season. And usually you win with pitching."
Zack Wheeler will start Wednesday, and Lorenzen is set for his Phillies debut on Thursday. Aaron Nola, Sanchez and Taijuan Walker will face the Royals this weekend at home, in that order.