For Lorenzen, joining Rox brings pitching connection full-circle

DENVER -- Right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen and pitching coach Alon Leichman bonded nearly a decade ago over the art and science of “movement discipline.”

The art and science of pitching, however, often leads to forceful but productive disagreement.

The Rockies will get a chance to see how this complicated-but-symbiotic relationship plays out in the Major Leagues. Lorenzen, heading into his 12th season in the Majors, officially joined the club Thursday on a one-year, $8 million guaranteed contract with a 2027 option worth $9 million. Leichman became the Rockies’ pitching coach last month.

The signing of the 34-year-old Lorenzen -- a onetime top Reds Draft pick who has compiled a 54-55 record with a 4.08 ERA in 395 Major League games (119 starts) across six previous teams -- raised eyebrows. It's the most the Rockies have spent on a starter who had not been with the club previously since Kyle Kendrick signed for $5.5 million in 2015. Since then, two other outside free-agent starters -- Chad Kuhl (2022) and Dakota Hudson (2024) -- accepted Rockies offers before Lorenzen signed.

What did it take for Lorenzen to ignore a history of pitchers struggling in Denver’s altitude and the Rockies’ 43-119 performance last year that featured the highest starter ERA (6.65) since ERA became an official stat in 1913? Chalk it up to Lorenzen’s natural curiosity, a coach who is just as curious in Leichman, and a team that’s willing to be different after experiencing a club-record seven straight losing seasons.

“I feel like it's untapped, and I don't think you could say that about anywhere else in Major League Baseball,” Lorenzen said. “There's a lot of new information to be learned. And that's kind of right up my alley. As you get to know me, you’ll see that I enjoy problem-solving.”

Leichman, a former assistant pitching coach with the Reds and Marlins who isn’t afraid to be completely different, is excited about not only Lorenzen but also about a pitching staff energized by the prospect of a new look.

“That’s the dream, right?” Leichman said. “We’re in la-la land right now. Everyone is feeling their best. It’s going to get tested once the season starts and adversity hits. If we continue this environment when we get knocked down a little bit, that’s going to be the true testament.”

The dynamic between Lorenzen and Leichman could be a sign of the Rockies’ new pitching atmosphere.

In 2017, Lorenzen was with the Reds and growing into a student of the baseball life -- be it pitch movement, lifestyle, workouts or just about anything to gain an edge. Lorenzen became intrigued with Ido Portal, an Israeli athlete and trainer who found martial arts too limiting and incorporated yoga, dance and gymnastics into his “movement culture.” Pro athletes gravitated his way as his techniques, which involve eye-opening feats of balance, spread to studios worldwide.

Leichman grew up in Israel, and had embarked on a career as a player for the national team and a coach who would work his way to Major League jobs. Turns out one of his childhood friends is Roye Goldschmidt, who studied Portal and has developed his own "movement culture" in Israel. Leichman heard that Lorenzen had adopted the training while working out in San Diego.

“Training with a guy like Ido, you think outside the box,” Lorenzen said. “You think outside the box. You’re thinking about the ways that the body can move in ways that you can generate power through your body that are unconventional in the sports training world.

“We clicked just because we think a little more unconventionally.”

The two stayed in contact as Lorenzen became more adventurous with his pitching plans. Lorenzen’s Baseball Savant page lists seven pitches, and he said he’s come up with a variation of his changeup (his best secondary pitch) that he calls his eighth.

Sometimes, Leichman tells Lorenzen that he’s pitching himself off the deep end.

“It’s the relationship we’ve formed,” Leichman said. “It’s something I strive to have with all players I work with. It’s open communication. All opinions are welcome.

“An example -- I’m making this up -- but if he says, ‘I need another pitch,’ I can tell him, ‘You’re crazy.’ And we start debating about it. It’s all in good spirits.”

The spirits were so good that when Leichman told Lorenzen that he had a job interview with the Rockies, Lorenzen was already in.

“We didn't have to convince him of anything -- he ran toward this challenge,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said. “Michael actively wanted to pitch here.”

Lorenzen also worked with new Rockies assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas, whose reputation is based on pitch shaping, when he was with the Tigers in 2023. He trained early in his career with new director of pitching Matt Daniels -- who worked at the Driveline Baseball data-driven facility in suburban Seattle before working in the Majors with the Giants and Twins.

Lorenzen’s words and examples are needed. Both Lorenzen and lefty Kyle Freeland are by far the most experienced starters. Righty Ryan Feltner is the only other starter on the Major League roster who was beyond his rookie season in 2025.

Rockies righty Jimmy Herget, a teammate of Lorenzen’s on the Reds, lauded him as “very well-put together, very meticulous.” And Lorenzen is willing to share.

Lorenzen developed the Workmode Fitness App to offer workouts and strategies to the next generation of players. He hopes to be an in-the-flesh example as younger teammates find their way.

“To be able to go into a team like, 'This is my way of doing it … this is my way of nutrition, my way of sleep, my way of hydration, my way of scouting, problem solving, arm care, all this stuff,'” Lorenzen said, “it’s just giving off knowledge and letting the guys, you know, use what they like and throw away what they don’t.”