NY Mets may actually have a reason to sign Michael Lorenzen next offseason

Michael Lorenzen hopes to use this season to make him a more special free agent next winter.

Los Angeles Angels v Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels v Kansas City Royals | Ed Zurga/GettyImages

My mother could have been an MLB agent with the way she knew how to carefully craft together an excuse without lying. In elementary school, she’d freely tell me that if I ever forgot to do my homework, tell the teacher “my mother is not feeling well” rather than “my mother is sick” because at a certain age, we all feel kind of unwell every moment. Pain relievers are the best holiday gift you could give a person over 30. While hardly a consideration for the New York Mets this offseason, the tactic Michael Lorenzen and his agent are using to make him a more attractive target would make my mother proud.

In an attempt to bend the rules of only being able to carry 13 pitchers, Lorenzen is being marketed as a two-way player. He tried this out in the past without much luck. Now strictly a pitcher and a decent one at times, he’s essentially punting at an opportunity to start the year on a contender while making himself closer to Shohei Ohtani in the only way he can.

Michael Lorenzen can help the Mets with their six-man rotation construction in 2026

The Mets probably wouldn’t have patience to help him meet his criteria this year. To qualify, he’d need 20 games as a DH or position player with 3 at-bats in those games. More of a fit for a rebuilding ball club who could give him those hacks at the plate and then ship him off at the trade deadline, look for him to be a more viable candidate for the Mets in 2026.

Because they should still have Kodai Senga around by the time we get to 2026, this coming season is more of a preview of how they’ll handle a six-man rotation. So far, loading up on as many starting pitchers has been the only indication. Arms. Arms. Arms. Give us all of the arms we can get. We want to look like Goro from Mortal Kombat in comparison to the rest of the teams.

New York is already pushing the envelope with a six-man rotation and having limited players they could option to the minors leagues. With a six-man rotation. It means seven players in the bullpen feels extremely light. Many of their better pitchers are the ones they could option. At minimum they’ll need one spot in the bullpen they can constantly rotate through to keep the arms fresh. We saw last year how an early overuse had them going from excellent in April to downright awful in May.

Lorenzen has been a pretty good starter over the last three seasons. Familiar with being in a six-man rotation from his days playing alongside Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, that season which saw his return to the rotation included an 8-6 record and 4.24 ERA in 18 starts. He followed it up with a great first half with the Detroit Tigers in 2023 and a far less favorable finish after he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. After tossing a no-hitter for Philly, he was never quite the same.

Last season was different for Lorenzen who managed to pitch well with the Texas Rangers and turn into a stud following a trade to the Kansas City Royals. In 6 starts and a relief appearance for Kansas City, Lorenzen was 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA.

The Mets signing Sean Manaea might have officially ended their pursuit of any more significant starting pitchers. A player like Lorenzen would fall more into the back of the rotation with the potential to put up numbers belonging closer to the top. Right now it’s a hard pass. Next year, especially if he does well again in 2025, he’s going to be a solid match.

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