5 Phillies players who should be gone immediately after the 2023 MLB playoffs

Michael Lorenzen

Michael Lorenzen was the Phillies’ lone big trade deadline acquisition this year in an attempt to bolster their rotation down the stretch and into the playoffs. He was acquired from the Tigers in exchange for one of their top prospects in second baseman Hao-Yu Lee. Lorenzen had an amazing start with his new ballclub following the trade deadline, going eight innings of six-hit, two-run ball against their divisional rivals the Miami Marlins. He promptly followed that up with an outstanding encore performance with a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals.

However, that was as good as it got, as Lorenzen would go on to struggle for much of the remainder part of the season, so much that he has even lost his job as a starter recently with the ballclub. Perhaps leaving him in for too many pitches from his no-hitter game ultimately has some negative effect on him physically. Since the feat, he has posted a monstrous 8.89 ERA with a .342 opponents batting average, 1.98 WHIP, giving up 27 earned runs including eight home runs, 14 walks and 15 strikeouts in just 27.1 innings of work prior to Thursday's game.

Many had feared the Phillies gave up a big-time prospect for just purely a rental, and in this case, it looks to be more and more heading towards that direction. Nevertheless, Lorenzen will hope to regroup in time to get a spot on the postseason roster, which could also be in doubt at this moment. But one thing is for sure, is that most likely we won’t be seeing him anymore in a Phillies’ uniform at the conclusion of the postseason.