The Yankees have “checked in” on free agent right-hander Michael Lorenzen, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty’s market may be heating up with just two weeks to go until Opening Day, as he was also connected to the White Sox yesterday.
The Yankees were already in the market for starting pitching, having been connected to Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery throughout the winter. Their need for rotation help only grew this week when ace Gerrit Cole was sidelined by an elbow issue. Cole and the Yankees are still gathering information but it seems like he will miss a month or two of the season even in a best-case scenario.
Whether Cole is ultimately destined for a brief or a lengthy absence, it’s a huge blow to the club’s rotation. Up until this issue popped up, he was the rocksteady leader of an otherwise shaky group. Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman all battled injuries last year to varying extents.
Stroman was having a great year prior to his injury woes, as he had a 2.96 ERA at the All-Star break, but hip and rib cartilage injuries led to diminished results and missed time, as he finished the year with a 3.95 ERA in 136 2/3 innings. Rodón and Cortes ended up having fairly similar years in terms of limited innings and poor results. Rodón battled a forearm strain and hamstring strain as he posted a 6.85 ERA in 64 1/3 frames. Cortes twice went on the IL due to a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder and finished the campaign with a 4.97 ERA in 63 1/3 innings.
There’s tons of bounceback potential in that trio, as Stroman has a 3.65 ERA in his career while having reached 179 innings four times in his career. Rodón was an ace over 2021 and 2022, posting a 2.67 ERA in 310 2/3 innings in that time. Cortes had a 2.61 ERA in that same two-year stretch, though in a lesser workload of 251 2/3 innings.
If all three are able to get back to their previous forms, the rotation could be in good shape without Cole, but that’s a lot for the Yanks to gamble on. They are heavily committed to competing in 2024, as they gave up five players to get one year of Juan Soto. They also got Trent Grisham from the Padres in that deal, but Soto’s 2024 season was obviously the highlight for them. In addition to the talent they gave up, they are paying Soto a $31MM salary, plus the taxes incurred as a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax.
Even in an ideal situation where Stroman, Rodón and Cortes are all in good form, there’s still the back end of the rotation to think about. Clarke Schmidt will likely be taking one spot after he put up a 4.64 ERA last year. That’s probably fine for a #5 guy but the fact that the Yankees have been consistently connected to free agents suggests they would prefer to knock Schmidt down to #6, but he’s instead been bumped up to #4 for as long as Cole is out.
Current options to take a spot behind Schmidt would include Luke Weaver, Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, Yoendrys Gómez or Will Warren. Weaver has posted an ERA of 6.40 or higher in three of the past four seasons. Gil missed most of the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. Gómez has literally two innings of MLB experience while Beeter and Warren have none.
It’s a less than ideal group and it’s understandable that the club is interested in bolstering it. They’ve long been connected to marquee free agents like Snell and Montgomery but signing either of those guys would be especially costly. The Yanks are above the fourth and final tier of the CBT and are set to be a third-time payor, meaning any additional spending comes with a 110% tax bill. Even if Snell or Montgomery could be talked down to a $20MM annual salary at this late stage of the offseason, the Yanks would be looking at paying $22MM in taxes on top of that this year.
That situation would be lessened with Lorenzen, as he has a far more limited track record as a starter than those two. The Reds kept him in relief for most of his career but he sought out a return to starting when he reached free agency ahead of the 2022 season. He signed a one-year, $6.75MM deal with the Angels and was able to toss 97 2/3 innings, missing a couple of months with a shoulder strain and finishing the year with a 4.24 ERA.
It wasn’t an elite performance but he held his own and pushed up his annual workload. He then signed an $8.5MM deal with the Tigers for 2023 and took another step forward. He logged 105 2/3 innings with Detroit over 18 starts, with a 3.58 ERA in that time. He was traded to the Phillies and his first two starts for his new club were excellent. He allowed two earned runs over eight innings against the Marlins and then followed that up with a no-hitter against the Nationals.
He tossed 124 pitches in that no-hitter and seemed to break down after that. He was sporting a 3.23 ERA at that time but then allowed 27 earned runs in 30 1/3 innings the rest of the way, getting bumped to the bullpen in the process.
His 4.18 ERA on the year might not look amazing but it’s possible he ran out of gas after pushing himself further than he had gone before. Even if his true talent is a mid-4.00 ERA guy, that can be useful for the Yankees this year. Cole may be back in a few months but other injuries are inevitable and Lorenzen would improve the depth by pushing everyone down a peg.
It was reported last week that Lorenzen was holding out for a two-year deal that hasn’t yet materialized. Whether he can get that pact or ultimately has to settle for a one-year deal, he’ll be looking at a lesser salary than Snell or Lorenzen and the Yankees would have less to worry about in terms of taxes. A hypothetical $10MM salary, just as an example, would lead to $11MM in taxes. That’s still $21MM for a backend starter but it’s perhaps preferable to committing far more money and many more years for someone like Snell or Montgomery.
The Yankees were reportedly leaning towards acquiring Dylan Cease in the wake of Cole’s injury, as Cease’s $8MM salary would be far more palatable to them than the Snell/Montgomery duo, but Cease was traded to the Padres yesterday. There are some theoretical trade candidates still out there, such as Shane Bieber of the Guardians and Jesús Luzardo of the Marlins. However, both the Guards and the Fish are dealing with significant rotation injuries and may be less inclined to further subtract from their pitching staffs at the moment.
Lorenzen has received interest from the Mets, Angels, Twins, Padres and Orioles at various points this offseason, but he remains unattached now in mid-March. The Sox trading Cease seems to have given them some interest in signing Lorenzen to replace his innings, in addition to the Yankees sniffing around due to Cole’s situation. The regular season starts next week with the Seoul Series featuring the Dodgers and Padres but the rest of the league starts the season on March 28, two weeks from today.
Lorenzen makes way more sense than the prices for Monty and Snell, both in years and AAV. Do it Cashman!
Being in the third tier CBT really amplifies that cost. The teams that aren’t in that third tier are worried about their media revenues. Snell and Monty hit the market in the wrong year.
Boras didn’t take into account the RSN issues for teams, or maybe he did and just dug his heels and continued with his strategy of getting the biggest deal for Monty and Snell. That strategy has already cost Bellinger and Chapman money.
“Snell & Monty hit the market in the wrong”…With many MLB teams facing uncertain future revenues due to the Regional Sports Network crash the market was never going to support 4+ pitchers looking for $200M+ contracts. Essentially 3 starting pitchers did extremely well this off-season: Yamamoto, Nola & Wheeler. Tyler Glasnow did score himself a nice $120M+ extension. I think the other remaining free agent pitchers are all looking at 1 year deals. Definitely not the best year to “hit the market”.
Yanks would have interest in me if I could swagger down the street without being stabbed
We are starting to see the negative impact of all of the crazy 7, 10 and 13 year contracts. A lot of bad money out there.
Plus, Lorenzen can also play CF and pinch hit!!! And we all know how Aaron Boone LOVES his pinch hitters.
Let the Yankees sign Lorenzen and shove him to way back in the rotation. I can’t imagine what a marginal #5 will get, but be sure it will be more than he’s worth.
Dude will help whoever picks him up. Mystery that he’s still available.
Most likely teams only want him for one-year deals and he’s probably looking for a multiyear deal. That’s the speculation from most people.
no multiyear deal at a low cost, for a team with a need and maybe a competitive chance, has materialized through the rash of spring injuries? come on rays, 2/18mil might just bring lorenzen in
I like Lorenzen but the other aspect of it is that he wants back of the rotation starter money when he hasn’t shown he can handle the number of innings that starters are expected to throw. He has been good out of the bullpen earlier in his career but back of the rotation starter money is a lot for a bullpen piece.
He threw 150 innings last year. That’s pretty much a 4-5 starters load.
Heck, give it five more years and 150 innings will be a frontline starter.
Why not look at Clevinger or Bauer? There is something odd going on with those two and Mongtomery and Snell.
Cole likely gave the “scoop” to Cash about Trevor. That boat won’t be sailing.
Lorenzen to Yankees or White Sox.
Snell to Anaheim or San Francisco. Monty to Boston, Anaheim or SF.
I like several of these takes:
Lorenzen to Yanks
Snell to Angels
Monty to Boston
I don’t dislike anyone enough to exile them to that mess on the South Side right now!
PS *Both* Lorenzen *and* Snell to the Angels would be cool but I don’t think that organization has the balls to make it happen…
Nobody wants Bauer. Aside from whatever legal issues he had or may have in the future he hasn’t proven he can be a good teammate or pitch well without sticky tack. Not to mention how outspoken he is on social media. Nobody wants that headache.
Do Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization still both use pre-tacked balls?
Pretty ignorant post with tons of falsehoods. congrats
Nobody wants Bauer because they don’t want to ruffle feathers and cause potential “protests” (meaning riots) against a man who did nothing wrong. As for not being a good teammate, I truly doubt he’s the first or even the 1,001st.
“A man who did nothing wrong”
I guess brutally choking and beating an unconscious woman doesn’t qualify as “wrong” to you, but clearly, MLB and its teams think differently (as would any decent human being with an ounce of decency or morality). Do you think Bauer is a good role model? Would you want your children or family around him? PR departments in baseball are paid big money to avoid bad apples and Bauer is pretty damn rotten.
“Did nothing wrong”?
We don’t know what he did, but MLB knows, and Bauer doesn’t want it made public. That’s why he’s playing nice. Only those that don’t know are willing to defend him.
Every day on this site Bauer apologists are enabled. At what point is it enough?
He clearly abused women. It’s not a mystery why no MLB team will sign him. We read these garbage comments under every pitching story.
im a orioles fan and i dont want bauer on the orioles,period end of story
They may sign him if they defer not wanting him for a year or two. Ok, I’ll see myself out
“Why not look at Bauer?”
Take a quick trip to Wikipedia.
You look to Wikipedia for facts???
Where do you go, your neighbor?
Checked in on Lorenzen, overpay for Snell ^_^
They have the money and the track record to make it happen.
To make what happen?
The Yankees have “checked in”
I’m all for the “rumors” part of MLB Trade Rumors but citing Jon Heyman as the source of the rumor discredits it immediately.
Need some more verifiable sources. Jack Curry would be the trusted source for Yankees rumors.
There’s a few to be trusted. Brian Hoch, Mark Feinsand, Andy Martino and a few more. Curry definitely tops the list though. Heyman ain’t on it.
100% correct Joe
I would not be surprised if 30 teams haven’t “checked in.”
Sign Blake Snell. Or Jordan Montgomery.
Blake and Jordan are waiting.
Snell had a chance to sign with the Yankees and Boras didn’t negotiate. It’s believed that Monty still holds a grudge over being traded.
I remember after Monty got traded he said he wasn’t living up to his full potential in New York and that he feels confident he’ll be a better pitcher.
Buzz
Try not to fixate on the “full Monty”
I feel sorry for the team who signs Snell at this point. Every season, he’s a disaster up until around the ASB..then all of a sudden becomes one of the best pitchers in the game in the second half.
No doubt in my mind he’s going to have an especially rough year after missing ST.
So you’re saying sign him at midseason when he’s good?
No, I’m saying I wouldn’t touch him this year because it’s almost certain he’ll be well behind schedule, and is liable to be the first half Snell into the second half of the season.
i used to watch him pitch when he played in the east and i watched him at least 15 times he was good,but not great.id say hes worth 17 maybe 18 mil. a year.where did he come with the figure 30 mil. a year.can anyone tell me? i need to be schooled on this.
Guys, stop being interested and start getting dudes signed. Multiple. I don’t care who it is, y’all need arms. Period.
And those arms need jobs, so they better bend.
Nothing like a review of a long string of bad news to cheer a Yankee’s fan up.. Maybe they get lucky with Lorenzen, but….
Mikenmn — Nobody who signs Lorenzen is “getting lucky.”
Fair point.
Called that. Was honestly thinking a P nxt tier dwn frm Lorensen would be Cashmans MO.
“There is something odd going on”…Outside of mlbtraderumors.com you’re not hearing the name Bauer or Clevinger even mentioned by the baseball press. It’s like they don’t even exist. There are people in “witness protection” with higher profiles than those two pitchers. I assume that has something to do with their past behaviors and/or potential public backlash in signing them.
MLB has always tried to hold a higher standard in the sports world. Thugs go to the NFL or NBA. Baseball has always tried to be the gentleman’s game. These guys being shut out is no mystery to me.
You’re right aside from the coded word “thugs”.
Nothing coded. Thugs are thugs.
They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes if that’s what you’re implying.
Pete Rose was a thug.
Ty Cobb was the thug OG
John Cena – Basic Thuganomics
MSM = The biggest thug of all.
i believe bauer has been blacklisted by all 30 mlb teams.cleavinger may be as well
Yankees are settling for a mega payroll and 3rd place in the AL East.
They trade for Jesús Luzardo at the deadline and Rodón finishes top 3 in AL Cy while leading the Yankees to #28.
Do you think the Yankees will have the 28th worst record in baseball? I guess if Rodons leading the way.
Assuming the Marlins go along with your plan.
Without Cole untill at least summer, look for Yanks to finish out of wild card race just like 23.
AL East is for the O’s taking again.
He’s catching a shave & a haircut “as we speak” Ahahaha!
Cashman will overpay. Trying to make journeymen P insanely rich and pay the luxury tax on top of it just to have em eat sum innings lol
I can’t believe the NYY couldn’t trade 37 .137 hitters for Dylan… they picked up all those below Mendoza line bats and the white Sox didn’t want them? Or was it they just wanted to stick it to the Yankees and deal Dylan out of the AL? obviously the Yankees can’t sign another pitcher that’s big ticket- so- they have to trade for who..? Can they afford Lorenzen with the cost that comes with payroll?
Number of seconds until Heyman breaks the news that Lorenzen is signing with the Giants…3…2…1.
Number of seconds Heyman is relevant or reputable : 3, 2, or 1 ?
Jays should be in on Lorenzen, give him a 2 year deal and figure out how the pieces fit when everyones healthy, neither Manoah or Kikuchi should be guaranteed anything and then Lorenzen can replace Kikuchi next year
Tiedeman is replacing Kikuchi next year.
Maybe. I hope Tiedemann makes his debut sometime this season, but until it actually happens and he takes a rotation spot, there is zero harm in signing a swingman who can pitch in the rotation this year and the pen next year, and I guess you missed the part about Manoah
Tiedeman isn’t even on the 40 man roster and doesn’t have to be until the Rule 5 draft. So you add him before that means someone gets kicked off. More roster shuffling. Maybe even unnecessary so since Tiedeman has injury problems and less than 50 IP at AAA.
right now the Jays have Francis and White going after the #5 and #6 spots because Manoah isn’t going to be ready. Rodriguez will be in AAA getting into shape. That’s 4 pitchers ahead of Tiedeman.
The starting 5 would have to implode before Tiedeman gets a call up. And if the starting 5 implodes, the season is done. Why start Tiedeman’s clock when they don’t have to?
Wow dude. You are the one that was so sure he was gonna be a starter in 2025.
Kinda weird not to think if he’s starting in 2025 that he may make his debut in 2024.
Ever hear of injuries or under performance. White has been garbage, Francis and Rodriguez have never started a game in the majors and do we really need to mention Manoah.
@MysteryWhiteBoy13
Again, Tiedeman is not on the 40. Which means he’s not on the active roster. He has less than 50 IP at AAA. For him to be added to the 26, a pitcher has to be removed. So you’re going to lose someone just so Tiedeman can get a start or two? Then what? Send him back to the minors? Stash him in the pen ? (He certainly doesn’t have the arm strength to continue starting). Putting in the pen means he doesn’t get development time as a starter. Adding him to the 26 for a couple of starts does nothing to help his development.
Jays are going with Bowden Francis and White.
@Whyme
They sure as hell are. It’ll be interesting to see who goes when Rodriguez is ready. Francis does have an option while White doesn’t.
Rumour rumor for sure.
Bauer, the right guy at the right price !! Sign him up, even if Cole is fine, grab him!!
Nobody wants him. I don’t get why the fanboys don’t realize that isn’t good. He hasn’t proven he can pitch without sticky tack or be a good teammate.
I find it quite disturbing that society has higher moral standards for Major League Baseball players than they do presidents of the United States
You are 100% correct. A baseball player tests positive for PEDS, or is obviously using them, he’s vilified forever, and forget about the HOF, unless you were a long time DH in Boston. But, a football player only gets a 3-4 game suspension, and no negative press whatsoever. An all-time points leader who plays for the Lakers? Well, you’re celebrated even more. Just don’t be a baseball player, because if you get caught taking a Vicodin for back pain, look out!!!
As far as the Yankees go, Brian Cashman only needs to look in the mirror. He knew, in his heart, Clarke Schmidt isn’t worthy of being a #5, and had ALL off-season to address starting pitching. I think Stroman was a pretty decent signing, but more pitching was absolutely needed, and Cashman, as usual, did nothing. Cashman should have been out as GM, many years ago. I have a strong feeling this is the year the above .500 streak ends, and a good possibility the Yankees finish in last place in the strong AL East. I thought this BEFORE the Cole injury, now, it seems like a foregone conclusion.
You mean creepy Joe with fingering Tara Reed and showering with his teenage daughter.
Funny Betts said he was am awesome guy.
“Yankees check in on Lorenzen”..I frequently “check in” with the Tom Brady’s ex Gisele Bundchen camp, although now I have to do it from over 1000 ft away, at least according to the judge anyway.
My ex refers to her Restraining Orders as more like… Restraining Suggestions.
This makes me happy as I have been touting Lorenzen as a free agent pickup for weeks now. The Yanks can make big strides by signing 3 or 4 spot rotation starters and allow them to succeed expecting/hoping they may pitch the entire year at that level. And at a much lower price point than $25-30M which is doubled at the tax rate. Go get him!!!!
I blv that the route the yankees will take is the trading way. Any FA they sign will be very taxative and probably lost some draft pick order and intl pool money. I’m thinking of an arm such as Kyle Freeland from Colorado, that deal wouldn’t cost too much of your farm.
It’ll all depend if Colorado wants to be a dance partner.
If Cole is indeed out only a couple months this is a good stopgap. If he’s out more, they can get someone at the deadline.
“Checked in” is a bit lower on the scale compared to “interested in.” They check in on every free agent.
Ask for the moon Lorenzen the Yankees got the money.
Before the Padres pulled off the trade for Dylan Cease @ 8 million this year and probably 9.5-10 million next year before he becomes a free agent…unless he has a good year and the Padres extend him…the 12.5 million for Hosmer should be coming off the books…I thought Lorenzen would be a good get for San Diego on a two year deal for about 18-21 million dollars. The closer we get to the start of the season I believe that someone will give him a two year contract…that would be considered “cheap “ compared to what other starting pitchers are getting.
Can he give you 150 innings with an era between 3.85 and 4.25 ?
Seth Lugo did it for the Padres last year and he was mostly a bullpen guy for much of his career and made 8.75 million last year so this sounds about right…Lugo threw 146 innings last year with a 3.57 era and a 1.20 whip…Lorenzen threw 153 innings, 4.18 era and a 1.21 whip…why Lorenzen is still available is a surprise and given the need that the Yankees have this should be a no brainer
Yankees interested next day player signed with team x.
Just saw in different report outa ny that Stroman won’t be opening day starter in lieu of Cole n that Rodon is goin gm #2. That leaves Cortes n Schmidt but said yanks considering making opening day a bullpen gm … how the mighty have fallen. BP gm on the 1st day ?
Yeah, I know Nolan Ryan once threw about 277 pitches in a game and Warren Spahn pitched 52 years without a sore arm, yadda yadda.
What went unreported is pitchers like that were Space Aliens. That source has apparently run its course.
So, if you’re Michael Lorenzen, Spencer Turnbull, et. al….DO NOT PITCH A NO-HITTER! Once you get past 105 pitches, that extra, extra, extra torque and strain on the arm is deadly.
Just Say No to a No-No.
@serge
Bring back the knuckleballers. Give them the ball, throw 200 70 mph pitches. lol Mickey Jannis back to the O’s in long relief.
Yanks have 110% tax on any pitcher signings, I think they go with what they have unless they get a deal!
I would think that same trade package they offered for Cease would work for the Guardians and Bieber.
That’s a really good point. But, I don’t think it would take that to be honest. Regardless, it certainly should be enough.
Yankees need depth. Most fans have been clamoring for more SP (ironically) because of the three after Cole. They’ve been unwilling to build the team sustain injuries, and instead build a team hoping the injuries don’t come. In that respect (and others) they’ve failed spectacularly.
Stanton
Judge
And inevitably now Cole
I said when they handed him that deal that he would have to pitch 6-7 good years for it to be worth it and how that would be extremely unlikely for him or ANY pitcher to do such a thing. They have both a self imposed budget (Hal) and an exterior (luxury tax) so every dollar has to be spent wisely and they don’t.
They spend like drunken fools which is exactly what I would expect two little spoiled rich boys to do. 45% of the LT spent on 3 players….smartttttt. Cashman just some leach sticking to Hal while Hal acts like he built the Yankees brand himself. Delusional. Good thing Daddy set him up with an army of financial advisors to keep the money flowing after he was gone bc I’d bet he doesn’t have what it takes to run any of this on his own. He knows it and the fans are starting to figure it out.
Stadiums been empty before with a better owner at the helm. Find somebody capable to run this team or it might happen again.
Cole wasn’t a bad signing. Sucks if he misses a year but that dude is rock solid and built the way you want a starter. The idiotic Yankees move was always trading for Stanton & signing Rodon. No hindsight needed for those clunkers.
Sign him up! Take your pick 1 year 8 mill 2 year 12 mill 3 year 20 mill… spread out the years for lesser cap hit. He may take the security of a longer deal for less. And he would be fine as a 3rd or 4th starter type
Bout time Boras chipped in to help pay the luxury tax spillage. Snell signs $20m x2 with an out clause, boras donates $10m to Hal’s favourite charity…