The Blue Jays are bolstering their pitching staff with the addition of veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen, the club announced on Thursday. Manager John Schneider spoke about Lorenzen’s potential role with the club prior to the game against the Royals.
And what is that role, exactly? It could be just about anything.
Schneider relayed that Lorenzen told him he could “throw 100 pitches today. You can try to break me. It’s not going to work.”
Lorenzen, 34, was released by the Rockies on Aug. 19 after logging a 7.08 ERA across 26 appearances (25 starts). That is the highest ERA among all pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings this season.
With Shane Bieber joining a handful of Toronto starters on the injured list this week, Lorenzen could be an option for the rotation. He’s been basically a full-time starting pitcher since 2022 and produced a 4.10 ERA from 2022-25 as a member of five different clubs.
But with Jameson Taillon on track to return from the injured list in early September, Lorenzen could end up working in relief for the Blue Jays. He spent the majority of his first seven big league seasons (2015-21) pitching out of the Reds’ bullpen.