MLB trade regrade: Does Michael Lorenzen no-hitter change anything for Phillies, Tigers?

Just over a week ago, the Tigers agreed to trade All-Star pitcher Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies. Does Lorenzen’s no-hitter on Wednesday change our trade grade?

Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter in vans on Wednesday night, tossing 124 pitches in an outing which includes five walks. It wasn’t Edwin Jackson-esque, but it was close.

In doing so, Lorenzen made some MLB history in the process. Per Sarah Langs, he’s just the sixth starting pitcher in the expansion era to throw a no-no in his first or second start with a team.

Lorenzen is also just the eighth pitcher to throw a no-hitter after switching teams midseason.

So, as you can see, Philadelphia has pretty clearly won out here. In early July, Lorenzen was shocked he was chosen to represent the Tigers in the midsummer classic, as at the time he had an ERA over four. Since then, though, he’s transformed into another pitcher entirely, with an ERA just over 1.15 in his last five starts. It’s rather miraculous.

The Phillies ended to the Nationals no-hit streak of 3,810 games — it was the first time they’ve been no-hit since their move to Washington.

MLB trade regrade: Phillies acquire Michael Lorenzen from Tigers

At the time, we graded the Phillies as winners of this trade by a relatively minor margin, and it’s tough to make any major adjustments to the Tigers grade, as they were able to land a coveted prospect in Hao-Yu Lee.

Phillies trade grade: A-: Lorenzen making history should, for now at least, increase Philadelphia’s grade every so slightly. We considered this move a B for Dave Dombrowski at the time because, as FanSided’s Scott Rogust wrote, the Phils had “the 12th-lowest cumulative rating among starting pitchers (4.14)” and “if Lorenzen keeps up the pace, this is a solid addition for the Phillies.”

Rather, Lorenzen has bettered his pace and then some.

Tigers trade grade: B-: Lee has been stable since coming over to Detroit, where he reported to A+ Western Michigan. For the rest of the season, it’s Lee’s job to get acclimated to the Tigers system as well as the coaching and development staffs. They will have a major role in the player he eventually becomes. So far, Lee is slashing .263/.333/.421 in five games for the Whitecaps.