Michael Lorenzen faces acquainted foe, Tigers, in Royals debut

Michael Lorenzen pitched for the Detroit Tigers at the start of last season, then recorded his first win of this season against them.

Lorenzen will face the Tigers once again on Saturday, but he’ll do so wearing yet another uniform. He was traded from the Texas Rangers to Kansas City on Monday in exchange for minor league pitcher Walter Pennington. On Saturday, he will make his Royals debut in Detroit.

Kansas City has won five straight, including the first two games of the current four-game series. Detroit will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

“I’m planning on giving this team a start every five days and giving them everything that I have,” Lorenzen said, according to the Kansas City Star.

Lorenzen signed with Detroit in December 2022 and made 18 starts for the Tigers last season, then was dealt to Philadelphia. He made 11 regular-season appearances (seven starts) for the Phillies, then re-entered the free agent market after the season.

Late in spring training, Lorenzen signed with the Rangers. In his Texas debut, Lorenzen tossed five shutout innings in Detroit on April 15.

Lorenzen appeared in 19 games (with 18 starts) with the Rangers before the trade to the Royals. He is 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA this season.

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Lorenzen said. “I think it’s a great team to join and kind of plug right in. It seems like a lot of good guys. You know, being with Detroit last year, I made a few starts against Kansas City. And I’m happy to be a part of it.”

The Royals had been looking for a veteran option to fill the fifth spot in their rotation.

“He is another piece, just like the guys we brought in as free agents,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “They are great examples to the rest of the team and they are selfless. They know what it takes to win and they’ve been in this environment. It’s something that the younger guys can watch.”

Lorenzen has faced Detroit seven times (two starts) in his career, going 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA.

The Tigers hadn’t announced a starter for either of the last two games of the series. They essentially have two regular starters — ace Tarik Skubal and rookie Keider Montero, who pitched the first two games of this series. Casey Mize and Reese Olson are on the injured list, while Jack Flaherty was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Tigers also traded three other veterans before the deadline.

“We need to be professional and not pout about what happened over the last couple of days and get to playing baseball,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s what we control. It’s what we do. We have a lot of work to do and I trust our guys to be ready to play and not spend too much time on the rearview mirror.”

Kenta Maeda likely will continue be used in long relief. Maeda was signed to be one of the rotation’s mainstays but has pitched more effectively since he was moved to the bullpen.

“I just don’t really want to mess him up right now with the way he got his stability back in his performance,” Hinch said.

Detroit has been outscored 34-7 during the five-game skid, including a 9-2 loss on Friday night.

–Field Level Media