{"id":395030,"date":"2026-01-08T11:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/395030\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:15:11","slug":"rockies-add-2023-all-star-to-their-rotation-denver-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/395030\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockies add 2023 All-Star to their rotation \u2013 Denver Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rockies\u2019 rotation needed some immediate help \u2014 if only to give some of their younger prospects who were rushed into major-league service last year a chance to go back to the minor leagues for more seasoning rather than getting pummeled once again once the season begins.<\/p>\n

To that end, someone like Michael Lorenzen<\/a> could make sense \u2014 if he can last and reach at least 130 innings for a fourth-consecutive season.<\/p>\n

The Rockies agreed to terms with the 34-year-old right-hander on a one-year, $8-million deal with a $9-million club option for 2027. ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan was first to report the deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An All-Star in 2023 while with the Detroit Tigers, Lorenzen posted a 4.64 ERA and 1.327 WHIP over 27 appearances and 26 starts for the Kansas City Royals last season. <\/p>\n

The Rockies will be Lorenzen\u2019s sixth team since 2022, when he joined the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in free agency after seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. All but one of those seasons (2015) was spent as a reliever before he returned to starting duty with the Angels in 2022, where he\u2019s remained ever since.<\/p>\n

Although Lorenzen\u2019s HR\/9 rate spiked to 1.6 last year, his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.26 represented his best such figure since 2016.<\/p>\n

And if necessary, he\u2019s not a bad hitter; although he hasn\u2019t picked up a bat in a major-league game since the designated hitter became universal in 2022, he has a career .233\/.282\/.429 line and a .710 OPS. That OPS would have been better than four of the nine most-frequently used players at each position<\/a> for the Rockies last year.<\/p>\n

ROCKIES ROTATION COMING OFF HISTORICALLY BAD SEASON<\/p>\n

Last year, the Rockies finished with what is believed to be the worst starters\u2019 ERA in major-league history<\/a>: a ghastly 6.65 figure. <\/p>\n

Veteran stalwart Kyle Freeland was the only Rockie with at least seven starts who posted an ERA below 6.00; his solid September \u2014 with a 3.73 ERA \u2014 improved his ERA below 5.00 (4.98 to be exact) by the season\u2019s merciful conclusion.<\/p>\n

Twelve different pitchers started at least once for the Rockies last season, including three rookies making their major-league debuts: McCade Brown, Chase Dollander, Ryan Rolison (who worked as an opener for Antonio Senzatela on June 6) and Carson Palmquist. Brown was pressed into service for seven late-season starts after skipping AAA Albuquerque entirely and making just 11 starts at AA Hartford.<\/p>\n

Follow @MaseDenver<\/a><\/p>\n

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