Phillies get RHP Michael Lorenzen from Tigers to bolster rotation

Updated Aug. 1, 2023 6:47 p.m. ET

Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — The defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers for minor league infielder Hao-Yu Lee on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Lorenzen made the All-Star team this season for Detroit. He's 5-7 with a 3.58 ERA in his best year since converting from a reliever into a starter.

“Hopefully, the Phillies reap the rewards of what the Tigers put into me,” Lorenzen said. “I think I’ve thrown the best ball I’ve ever thrown, and I think there’s still more in me. Hopefully, when I get to Philly, I can apply that and they get the benefits of that. I’m just grateful for everything that happened here.”

The Phillies have a double-digit deficit behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, but they are in a tight race for a wild card in the National League and chose to give up a coveted prospect for a pitcher that can potentially help them win now.

“Sometimes you have to give to get, and we think we have a chance to compete and stay in this all year long,” Phillies team president Dave Dombrowski said.

Philadelphia gave up its No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The franchise signed Lee out of Taiwan in 2021. The 20-year-old second baseman has hit .283 with a .372 on-base percentage and 14 stolen bases in 64 games for High-A Jersey Shore this season.

Lorenzen has thrown 105 2/3 innings this year, just shy of his career high of 113 1/3. He spent much of his career as a reliever for the Reds, but he's been exclusively a starter for the Tigers and Los Angeles Angels the past couple seasons. He joins a Philadelphia rotation that includes Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker.

“He was really one of the few on our list who could start, and relieve,” said Dombrowski, a former Tigers general manager.

Dombrowski said the franchise was interested in signing Lorenzen last winter but was unable to commit to giving him a spot in the starting rotation.

To clear a spot for Lorenzen on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated infielder Josh Harrison for assignment. The 36-year-old Harrison hit .204 in 40 games this season in his first year in Philadelphia.

The rebuilding Tigers get a promising prospect in return for Lorenzen after signing him to an $8.5 million, one-year deal before the season.

“This was a very strong sellers' market,” Dombrowski said. “There were very few clubs that were actually looking to sell, and a lot of clubs that were willing to buy. We were going to have to give up someone that we didn’t want to give up."

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AP freelance writer John Perrotto in Pittsburgh contributed.

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