The Philadelphia Phillies entered the trade deadline with a few noticeable spots to upgrade their active roster. Atop the list is starting pitching and a position player with some pop. With less than three hours to go until the official deadline, one of these spots has been crossed off the list.
Per MLB insider Jon Morosi, the Phillies are acquiring starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers.
As of right now, Hao-Yu Lee is being reported as the only player heading from Philly to Detroit in this trade.
Lorenzen, 31, is playing on an expiring contract and is going to be strictly a rental piece for the Phillies. The nine-year veteran made his first All-Star Game this season and has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise uninspiring Tigers roster in 2023.
Through 18 starts, the right-hander is 5-7 with a 3.58 ERA, 3.88 FIP and 122 ERA+. Along the way, he has allowed less than one home run per nine innings and has seen his walks dramatically lower from last year's number (2.3 BB/9 this yearm 4.1 last year).
Over the course of his big league career, Lorenzen has functioned in pretty much every single role a pitcher can fill. He has started, he has been a long reliever, he has been a middle reliever and he has even closed games before. On the Phillies, he's going to be able to provide the club with extensive flexibility but the most natural fit for him seems to be the starting rotation.
As of right now, the Phillies' one-through-five in the rotation are spoken for, but the club has seen some disappointing performances from a few rotation staples in Zack Wheeler (who has been turning things around recently) and Aaron Nola. Taijuan Walker is here to stay but left-handers Ranger Suárez or Cristopher Sánchez, who have both shown promise at varying times this year, could be headed to the bullpen if Lorenzen is indeed ticketed for the rotation.