The Phillies are acquiring RHP Michael Lorenzen for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee:

Lorenzen was an All-Star this year and apparently the Phillies were looking into signing him during the offseason. He’d most likely slot in as the #5 starter and the Phillies could even look to using six pitchers in the rotation to give some arms a break. Lorenzen was also used in the bullpen with the Reds.

Here’s some of his stuff from this year:

He’s HOT right now! He’s got a 1.14 ERA in four starts in the month of July and batters are slashing .169/.235/.221. Here’s something else that’s interesting. He’s listed as a pitcher and outfielder with the Tigers. I wonder if the Phillies would ever utilize Lorenzen to come in and pitch to his three required batters, move to the outfield as a defensive replacement, and then comes back in on the mound. He did it Babe Ruth style three years ago:

 


He’ll hopefully help with the starting rotation, but maybe the South Philly Shohei will help get the pop going in this lineup:

P.S. There is zero chance your dad is going to be able to tell this guy and Matt Strahm apart a couple Coors Lights deep from the sofa: