The Rangers announced on Monday morning that they traded right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the Royals in exchange for minor league lefty Walter Pennington.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post had reported shortly before the announcement that Kansas City was interested in Lorenzen. Since Pennington is on the 40-man roster, no corresponding moves were necessary.
This trade does not indicate that the third-place Rangers are giving up on their season. There has been speculation over the past few weeks that with Max Scherzer, Dane Dunning, Tyler Mahle, and eventually Jacob deGrom getting healthy, Texas might trade a pitcher from its current rotation.
Lorenzen, who is on an affordable one-year contract and will become a free agent at the end of the season, was the most likely candidate to be traded.
With Lorenzen going to Kansas City, the Rangers’ rotation will include Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and possibly Dunning, although Mahle is nearing the end of a minor league rehab assignment and could take the fifth spot.
Lorenzen, 32, has pitched 101 2/3 innings with the Rangers, delivering a solid 3.81 ERA. However, his other stats are less impressive. His 17.9% strikeout rate is below the league average of 22.3%, and his 11.5% walk rate is above the league average of 8.2%.
He maintains a good 42.3% ground ball rate but has been aided by a .243 batting average on balls in play and an 80.7% strand rate, which are better than his career averages of .279 and 74.2%. Some regression is expected in these areas.
Even with potential regression, Lorenzen remains a reliable back-end starter. His current stats reflect his performance since he became a starting pitcher three years ago, following five years in the Reds bullpen. Over the 2022-2023 seasons with the Angels, Tigers, and Phillies, he posted a 4.20 ERA, an 18.9% strikeout rate, and an 8.8% walk rate across 250 2/3 innings. Including this year’s performance, he has a 4.09 ERA with below-average but not alarming strikeout and walk rates.
This suggests what the Royals can expect from Lorenzen moving forward, though he has had moments of brilliance. Notably, after being traded to the Phillies last summer, he threw eight innings of two-run ball in his debut and followed it with a no-hitter against the Nationals. However, he faded as the season progressed, likely due to a career-high innings workload and a 124-pitch no-hitter. Consequently, the Phillies moved him to the bullpen late in the season.
Kansas City’s rotation is mostly set with Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Michael Wacha, and Alec Marsh making up a solid one through five. However, Marsh has struggled recently, posting a 6.37 ERA over his last 10 starts, giving up at least three runs in eight of those games and four or more runs in six. Lorenzen might replace Marsh in the rotation, potentially sending Marsh to the bullpen or Triple-A Omaha. Lorenzen has already increased his base salary from $4.5M to $5.5M through his innings pitched and can earn additional bonuses based on further innings milestones.
While the Royals could use Lorenzen in the bullpen—especially after recent injuries to John Schreiber and Hunter Harvey—that would be unexpected since they traded a major league-ready reliever to acquire him.
Pennington, 26, will join the Rangers’ bullpen. The Rangers have struggled to find a reliable left-handed reliever this season, and Pennington might fill that role. An undrafted player from the shortened 2020 draft, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound lefty signed from the Colorado School of Mines and became just the second player from that school to reach the majors, following Roy Hartzell in 1906.
The Royals called up Pennington for a brief debut, but he only pitched two-thirds of an inning before being sent back down to Omaha. This season, he has been outstanding with the Storm Chasers, posting a pristine 2.26 ERA with a 32.9 percent strikeout rate, an 8.3 percent walk rate, and a 52.6 percent ground-ball rate over 59 2/3 innings.
Pennington’s arsenal includes a sinker at 92-93 mph, a cutter at 89-90 mph, and a slider at 83-85 mph. This year, he has predominantly used his slider and effectively contained both left-handed and right-handed batters, allowing similar batting lines of .198/.250/.286 (righties) and .156/.262/.278 (lefties).
Currently, Pennington is in the first of his three minor league option years. He won’t reach a full year of big league service in 2024, so the Rangers will control him through at least the 2030 season, with future optional assignments potentially extending this further.
He presents a potential long-term asset for the Texas bullpen, a valuable acquisition for a rental starter, especially considering the number of veteran pitchers the Rangers have returning from injury.
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