Phillies trade for right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen

It took within 3 hours of the MLB trade deadline but the Phillies have acquired a starting pitcher.

Michael Lorenzen will be a Philadelphia Phillie.

Lorenzen’s path to the Phillies

Lorenzen made his first All-Star Game in 2023. He has a 3.53 ERA in 105.2 IP with a 1.098 WHIP. Career-wise, Lorenzen has a 4.02 ERA. He’s mostly been a reliever in his career but has mainly been a starter in the past 2 seasons. He also has a 3.04 ERA since May 1st.

The veteran righty is a free agent at the end of the season. He features an average fastball that sits around 94.4 MPH. His slider is his out pitch against righties and his changeup kills lefties (.167 BAA). He throws 7 total pitches.

Hao-Yu Lee looks to be heading back to the Tigers. He’s the Phillies’ 5th best prospect according to MLB.com. Lee is hitting .283 for High-A Jersey Shore. He doesn’t have much power. He hit his 5th homer of the season on Monday night and has a .401 slugging %.

How Lorenzen fits into the rotation

Lorenzen is 7.2 IP from the most innings he’s even thrown in a season. That was his rookie season in which he also threw an additional 43 IP in Triple-A.

The move could be used to give Cristopher Sanchez a rest as he’s also nearing to most innings he’s ever thrown. Lorenzen looks to bolster the Phillies starting rotation and help propel them back into creating a Red October.