The Tigers have added another veteran arm to their rotation.
Detroit has signed right-hander Michael Lorenzen to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, per multiple reports, on the same day it officially announced a one-year deal for left-hander Matthew Boyd.
Lorenzen, who turns 31 next month, posted a 4.24 ERA in 18 starts for the Angels last season after spending the first seven years of his career as a reliever for the Reds. The expectation is that he'll be a starter for the Tigers.
When discussing the Boyd signing, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Wednesday the club had "two priorities" in its search for starting pitching this offseason: "Someone who could mentor the young pitchers we have in the big leagues ... and someone with significant upside."
Lorenzen is an interesting candidate in the latter department. He doesn't throw all that hard, he doesn't miss many bats and he doesn't always pound the zone. But there were things to like about his performance last season, like the fact that hitters had a .154 average and 38 percent whiff rate against his changeup and a .169 average and 35.2 percent whiff rate against his slider.
Last year was Lorenzen's first as a starter since his rookie season in 2015, and he did miss two months to a shoulder strain.
Along with Boyd, he joins a rotation in Detroit that currently features Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull and Matt Manning, with Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize both rehabbing elbow injuries.
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