Former Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen will have a new home next season after the club opted not to bring the free agent back.
Lorenzen last signed a one-year deal with the Angels as a transition contract in hopes to prove he could make the change from the bullpen to the rotation. However, injuries hampered his season and limited him to just 97.2 innings where he posted a 4.24 ERA, 4.31 FIP and logged 7.83 strikeouts per nine innings.
Still, the to-be 31-year-old pitcher showed enough in his 18 games for the Angels in 2022 to earn another chance at starting. His next opportunity will come with the Detroit Tigers as they are reportedly signing Lorenzen to a one-year deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
Michael Lorenzen has an agreement with the Tigers for of 1 yr, $8.5M with $1.5M in performance bonuses.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 15, 2022
Following his return in September from a shoulder strain, Lorenzen had his most successful stretch and carried a 2.36 ERA over 26.2 innings. He expressed interest in a reunion with the Angels and had voiced that during the season, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
Lorenzen had been vocal about wanting a reunion with the Angels. https://t.co/N37oXGyxgB
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) December 15, 2022
Lorenzen joins Tarik Skubal, Eduardo Rodriguez, Matthew Boyd and Matt Manning on a relatively young Tigers starting staff. His ability to pitch out of the bullpen will also give them another option if needed.
The Angels will likely still add another starter to utilize a six-man rotation once again this upcoming season and add some depth in case of an injury, but their core is set with Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson, Reid Detmers and José Suárez.
Angels made an offer to Willson Contreras before Cardinals deal
The Angels led by general manager Perry Minasian have been aggressive this offseason trying to upgrade their roster with the hopes of returning to the postseason.
The team signed Anderson and reliever Carlos Estévez while also making trades for slugging outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Gio Urshela. In addition, the team is also looking for a shortstop upgrade and additional bullpen help.
While catcher is not the most significant need on their roster with Max Stassi and top prospect Logan O’Hoppe at the spot, they also made an effort to improve at the position.
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