Detroit Tigers trade Michael Lorenzen to Philadelphia Phillies for prospect Hao-Yu Lee
PITTSBURGH — The Detroit Tigers traded right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday afternoon, less than three hours before Tuesday's 6 p.m. trade deadline, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The 31-year-old, a nine-year MLB veteran and a first-time All-Star this season, is set to become a free agent after the 2023 campaign. In return, the Tigers received 20-year-old infielder Hao-Yu Lee. He is the Phillies' No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Lorenzen signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Tigers in December 2022.
"I have a good process and a good routine, and I'm sticking to it," Lorenzen said Sunday morning in Miami, before the Tigers' series finale against the Marlins. "Otherwise, I'd probably be all over the place. It's good to be wanted, so this isn't anything bad. I've been pretty relaxed about it all."
Before joining the Phillies, Lorenzen pitched for the Cincinnati Reds (2015-21), Los Angeles Angels (2022) and Tigers (2023). He served as a starting pitcher in the 2015 season before spending six years in the bullpen.
Lorenzen returned to his favorite role as starter with the Angels in 2022, and upon joining the Tigers in 2023, he took the next step in establishing himself as a reliable starter in the big leagues.
For the Tigers, Lorenzen posted a 3.58 ERA with 27 walks (6.5% walk rate) and 83 strikeouts (19.9% strikeout rate) across 105⅔ innings in 18 starts. He carried a scoreless streak 22⅔ innings in parts of five starts from June 30 through July 27. Earlier in the season, he logged a 1.83 ERA in six starts from May 3 through June 3.
"I'm going through my routine," Lorenzen said Sunday. "I'm not starting until Friday (for the Tigers), but anything can happen, so I'm preparing to start on five days (Tuesday) no matter what. I'm getting prepped for that and making sure my body is in a good spot."
"In my mind, I just have to prepare for a start. When that is, I don't know. I'm going through my normal routine. If that was my last start with the Tigers (against the Los Angeles Angels), then it was great. I loved every second of it."
The Tigers helped Lorenzen develop into a better starter by reducing his arsenal from seven pitches to five pitches, ditching his cutter and curveball.
His five-pitch mix: 33.7% four-seam fastballs, 24.2% sliders, 20.8% changeups, 11.7% sinkers and 7.6% sweepers. He throws his fastball and slider to both right-handed and left-handed hitters while attacking lefties with his changeup and righties with his sinker and sweeper.
He increased the usage of his "bullet" slider from 4.4% in 2022 to 24.2% in 2023.
In his nine-year career, Lorenzen has tossed 676⅔ innings — starting 62 of his 331 games — with a 4.02 ERA, 3.6 walks per nine innings and 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Reds.
This story will be updated.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers trade Michael Lorenzen to Phillies for infield prospect
