Tigers Rumors: Astros and Rays interested in Michael Lorenzen at trade deadline

The Detroit Tigers' Michael Lorenzen has a lot of what teams are looking for in a trade deadline starting pitcher acquisition. He isn't making a ton of money this year at $8.5 million and he is a pending free agent. He also has performed reasonably well with a 3.75 ERA in 16 starts with 73 strikeouts in 93.2 innings this year without walking a bunch of guys. Just a reliable, middle of the rotation type of guy.

Lorenzen was rewarded for his solid run of play with his first All-Star appearance ($) and it looks like he is peaking at just the right time as MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported this evening that the Tigers have received trade interest from both the Astros and the Rays in the right-hander.

Where will Michael Lorenzen be playing after the trade deadline?

It isn't surprising that both the Rays and Astros have checked in on Lorenzen whatsoever. The Rays have dealt with injuries on their pitching staff for most of the season and finally relinquished first place in the AL East to the Orioles recently. The Astros lost Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia to season ending injuries and now their ace Framber Valdez is dealing with an issue with his calf.

However, don't expect these two teams to be the only teams in on Lorenzen as the deadline approaches as most contenders out there will be looking for starting pitching depth including the Giants, Braves, Guardians, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Reds all being potential options as well.

Having a lot of teams interested in Lorenzen is nice to be sure, but don't expect a king's ransom for Lorenzen. A pure rental starter, there is a pretty hard cap on what teams are going to be willing to give up for him especially since he isn't exactly a frontline guy. However, it is reasonable to expect that the Tigers could get a decent prospect or two out of him which could help position them even better going into the 2024 season.

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