Royals acquire Michael Lorenzen from Rangers

CHICAGO -- In an effort to increase their pitching depth and versatility on the staff, the Royals acquired righty pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Rangers on Monday, a day ahead of Tuesday's 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, in exchange for lefty reliever Walter Pennington.

Lorenzen, 32, is 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 appearances (18 starts) with the Rangers this season after signing a one-year, $4.5 million contract during Spring Training, making his season debut on April 15.

General manager J.J. Picollo said Lorenzen could fit any role as the Royals juggle both injuries in the bullpen and starters reaching new territory when it comes to innings pitched.

“In a lot of ways, [Lorenzen is] very, very good insurance for us regardless of what his role is,” Picollo said. “We think it’ll just play out in time.”

TRADE DETAILS
Royals acquire: RHP Michael Lorenzen
Rangers acquire: LHP Walter Pennington

The Royals had been interested in Lorenzen, and a deal came together quickly with Texas on Sunday night when the Rangers made him available as their rotation continues to get healthy. It also happened to coincide with two Royals relievers exiting Sunday’s game early due to injury and one of them -- John Schreiber -- went on the 15-day injured list Monday with right knee patella tendon inflammation. The Royals will know more about his timeline for a return in the coming days after he receives an injection, but he could be sidelined for three-to-five weeks.

Hunter Harvey, the Royals’ earlier Deadline addition, left the game with back spasms, he felt better Monday and is considered day to day. The Royals called up righty reliever Will Klein on Monday as the corresponding move for Schreiber, as Lorenzen is not expected to report to the club until Wednesday or Thursday. He likely wouldn’t have been able to pitch anyway, given that he started for the Rangers on Saturday -- without making it out of the first inning -- and pitching four innings in relief on Sunday when Jon Gray went down with an injury.

That scenario confirmed what the Royals had heard about Lorenzen and his competitiveness and professionalism in helping his team win. In many ways, he fits the veteran mold the Royals targeted this offseason when bringing in free agents to help a young clubhouse win.

“We’re excited to add him to the mix,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We don’t know, and he knows that we don’t know, how he’s going to be used. We’re going to have to see how the rest of this Trade Deadline plays out -- who’s here, who’s not -- and see how the injuries play out as well."

Lorenzen was a first-time All-Star last season when he made 29 appearances (25 starts) with Detroit and Philadelphia, setting career highs in starts, innings (153), wins (nine) and strikeouts (111). Lorenzen has performed well especially against lefty batters, holding them to a .144 average this season.

Lorenzen has pitched in relief throughout his career, with 269 of his 295 career appearances coming out of the bullpen, mainly with the Reds. In the past three seasons with the Angels, Tigers and Phillies, he’s become a starter. That experience gives the Royals some versatility and flexibility with their staff, especially as several of their starters head toward a big jump in innings from previous years.

Cole Ragans has blown past his career-high in innings at any level with 128 1/3 thrown so far this year. Seth Lugo, at 142 1/3 innings, could surpass his career-high (146 1/3) during his next start. Alec Marsh is in his first full season in the big leagues and is at 96 2/3 innings, and the righty has struggled recently with a 6.17 ERA in his last 11 starts. If the Royals decide to put Marsh in the bullpen, Lorenzen could slot into the rotation.

The Royals have discussed going to a six-man rotation, especially during long periods of games without a day off, like the 13-game stretch they’re in right now. However, there is an off-day scheduled every week for most of August, which would help reduce the workload.

Quatraro is not “a huge fan” of the six-man rotation, especially with how well the rotation has performed overall this year as a unit. Despite the increase in innings, Quatraro said his starters feel good.

“It’s something that we monitor closely,” Quatraro said. “We try to take advantage of the off-days. But these guys have pitched and gotten us to where we are. I’m not really concerned with them continuing to go out there and toe the rubber every fifth day.”

Pennington, 26, made his Major League debut earlier this month after he was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the Colorado School of Mines in 2020. He made 37 appearances (two starts) with Triple-A Omaha this season and posted a 2.26 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. The Royals have several lefties in their bullpen already with Kris Bubic, Sam Long, Angel Zerpa and Will Smith, making Pennington a good trade chip.

The Royals have been scouring the market and been involved in talks for several top trade candidates, especially in the last week, but haven’t been able to close some deals because the prospect value asked for in return has been too high. For example, they were interested in Angels closer Carlos Estévez, but couldn’t match the offer the Phillies eventually did, sending two highly-ranked prospects for two-plus months of the closer.

Bringing in Lorenzen not only gives the Royals depth, but is also a creative way in which to upgrade their staff. That doesn’t mean the Royals are done adding, though, and are still looking for ways to upgrade their bullpen and add a right-handed bat to their lineup.

“It fit what we’re trying to do,” Picollo said. “We’re trying to thread that needle. We’re trying to be very realistic and add to this club and help this team achieve what they’ve worked so hard to achieve -- to be competitive and try to make the playoffs.

“At the same time, we want to be very cognizant of our future. Some of the deals that have taken place, while we respect, they were areas where we wouldn’t go. This was right in that sweet spot of what we were comfortable doing. I think the versatility of Michael made it even more attractive.”