He’s not Jordan Montgomery. He’s not Dylan Cease. But the Rangers picked up another starter yesterday.

He’s Michael Lorenzen. He’s a thirty-two-year-old right-handed pitcher who is also an outfielder. One would assume with Carter, Langford, Garcia, Taveras, and Jankowski, the Rangers aren’t looking for the lifetime .233 hitter with seven career home runs to battle for an outfield job.

He’s also been a starter and a reliever, having appeared in sixty-nine games as a starter and two-hundred-seventy-three out of the bullpen. As a starter, he’s 23-25 with a .441 ERA. As a reliever, his ERA is 3.79.

Where the Rangers slot him into their pitching plans has yet to be announced. Since the season is only a week away, he will probably pitch out of the pen until he builds his arm strength, or until one of the Rangers short list of five starters inevitably break down. 

He signed a one-year deal for $4.5 million, which might be considered a bargain when he was looking for much more and when his market value at the beginning of the offseason was figured to be around $10 million. But the market isn’t what you want, it’s what others are willing to pay. Ask Jordan Montgomery.

Lorenzen started the 2023 season in the Tigers rotation, sporting a 4.17 ERA in eighteen starts, enough to get the attention of the Phillies at the trade deadline. After winning his first start with the Phillies, he threw a no-hitter in his second start. It looked like they got a steal at the deadline. Then Scheppersitis set in. In his next five starts he gave up seven runs, four, four, seven, and four. That cost him his spot in the Phillies rotation. He pitched two scoreless innings in the playoffs for Philadelphia.

The fact that he languished throughout the offseason and ended up in the bargain barrel doesn’t speak volumes about the confidence teams have in him right now. But, for the Rangers, he is another potential starter. He has really nice hair. And, being hamstrung by the Bally money falling through, he was affordable. 

Right now, the Rangers will take all the rotation help they can get. 

*****

TODAYS GAMES

GAME 1: Texas vs Cleveland, 3:05

GAME 2: Rockies vs Rangers, 3:05