The San Francisco Giants have had a busy offseason upgrading their 2024 roster. While president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has made multiple moves to bolster the starting rotation, plenty of questions remain ahead of Opening Day. Could 2023 All-Star hurler Michael Lorenzen be an option to stabilize this area of the club?
FanSided’s Robert Murray sees a potential fit between San Francisco and the right-handed pitcher. “But Lorenzen, a player that the Giants have liked in previous offseasons, could make the most sense and would not break the bank on a short-term deal,” he said.
Robbie Ray and Jodan Hicks have been added to San Francisco’s rotation mix via trade and free agency, respectively, this winter. However, there are legitimate question marks associated with both of them. Ray is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He won’t be back on a big-league mound until at least the summer. Hicks is transitioning back from the bullpen to the rotation. He’s started just eight games in his MLB career, all of which came in 2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
A rival evaluator commented to Murray that the Giants “only have 2.5 starting pitchers,” which includes Hicks, ace Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison. MLB Trade Rumors predicted on November 6 that Lorenzen would sign a two-year, $22 million contract as a free agent.
Lorenzen Would Enjoy Pitching at Oracle Park
After getting selected to the 2023 All-Star Game to represent the Detroit Tigers, Lorenzen landed with the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the trade deadline. Outside of throwing a no-hitter for the club, his tenure in the City of Brotherly Love was a bit bumpy.
He posted a 3.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 105 innings before the trade. That was followed by a 5.51 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 47.1 innings after the trade. Lorenzen watched his home runs allowed per nine innings rate rise from 0.9 in Detroit to 1.7 in Philly, too.
His 38.6% fly-ball rate in 2023 was a career-high mark, per FanGraphs. If there’s any place where that wouldn’t necessarily lead to more home runs, it’s Oracle Park. Since the start of 2021, it’s the fourth-toughest MLB ballpark for homers, per Statcast. If increased fly balls continue in 2024 for Lorenzen, it would work in his favor with the Giants.
What About Snell or Montgomery?
Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are still the top two starting pitchers on the free-agent market. Why wouldn’t the Giants just sign one of them to help with their rotation woes? While Snell’s reported preference is to sign with the Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco has remained linked to the southpaw.
Based on comments from Zaidi on March 3, the club is done making major acquisitions. “We have talked all offseason and been very consistent that our plan was to continue to graduate some of our young players. The offseason is really over as far as I’m concerned,” he said via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on X (formerly Twitter). Now that the club has reeled in third baseman Matt Chapman, Zaidi said trading an infielder might be their next move.
It seems unlikely that the Giants would go after Snell or Montgomery to put a bow on their offseason. Grabbing another hurler on a team-friendly short-term deal would help with their perceived lack of rotation depth right now, though.
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