Michael Lorenzen proved right away why the Philadelphia Phillies were smart to trade for him at the 2023 MB trade deadline. In his first start after being traded by the Detroit Tigers, he nearly threw a complete game and allowed only a pair of runs in eight innings. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski seems to have struck gold again.

Leading up to the deadline, it was clear that the Phillies needed one more strong arm to help them in their playoff push. Lorenzen was a prime candidate to be scooped up for multiple reasons. Most importantly, the Tigers were firmly in the territory of selling. But he also has experience as a starter and reliever. Dombrowski said that Philly had eyes for him for a while, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

“There were very few guys that were in a position of starting and relieving,” Dombrowski said, via The Athletic. “So he was somebody we had identified all along. We continued to watch him. He was throwing the ball very well. We knew he was going to get traded because the Tigers — they were in a position where they were looking to move players (who could be a) free agent at the end of the year. So it was a matter of then, OK, staying on top of the situation to see if we could make a trade — and, of course, a lot of clubs (were) interested in him.”

Dombrowski said that he reached out about a Lorenzen trade roughly a week before the August 1 trade deadline. The Tigers, understandably, put a high price tag on one of their best players who was receiving interest from numerous clubs. Eventually, a deal was agreed to and Philadelphia sent infield prospect Hao Yu-Lee to Detroit.

Lorenzen bolsters a strong pitching staff headlined by Zack Wheeler and Craig Kimbrell. He will be needed for pitching in the playoffs and should hold his own regardless of the situation he comes into. The Phillies didn’t add any outfield bats despite being in need of one but did swing a trade for Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro to help them hit better against left-handed pitching.