There has been and will continue to be a lot of names as possible rotation additions for the Cleveland Guardians until they finally bring a new arm in, but a potential addition coming via a division rival's starting staff would be very intriguing. That arm? Michael Lorenzen.
Lorenzen pitched for both the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals last season, compiling a 3.31 ERA and 1.235 WHIP over that span. The soon-to-be 33-year-old was notably better upon landing in Kansas City, seeing his ERA shrink to 1.57 and his WHIP lowering to a much more palatable 1.081. With his performance in 2024, it is no wonder why MLB.com's Mark Feinsand made him Cleveland's entry in One free agent who could make sense for every team. It is the potential departues of Shane Bieber and Matthew Boyd which appear to be the primary factor in this pairing by Feinsand.
"The potential loss of Shane Bieber and Matthew Boyd will leave Cleveland not only with holes to fill in the rotation, but also a veteran presence on the staff."Mark Feinsand on Michael Lorenzen
Even though it is very clear that Lorenzen overperformed in 2024 and it seems more than likely he will pitch at a level that falls in line with his career averages. Lorenzen has a career 3.99 ERA and 1.311 WHIP which are not necessarily all that exciting, but is still the solid numbers for a middle or back end of a rotation arm that Cleveland really needs right now.
A lot of what the Guardians do to address their pitching staff through external options comes down to whether or not they are able to retain the services of the above-mentioned Bieber or Boyd. If they manage to somehow keep both, Lorenzen would not really be needed since they would have more than enough options in their roation. But if one or both leave, the Guardians are going to need one ore more arms to bring in to the mix, and Lorezen could at least eat some innings to take pressure off of Cleveland's bullpen and hopefully avoid them running out of gas in the playoff for the second consecutive season.