3 Phillies free agents who will leave, 2 who will stay in 2024
By Josh Wilson
Michael Lorenzen will command too much competition in open market
Michael Lorenzen was acquired in the trade season from the Detroit Tigers, and almost immediately he paid off, throwing a no-hitter in just his second start with the team.
As the season wore on and the Phillies entered the playoffs, Lorenzen was moved to a bullpen relief role despite his propensity to pitch ace-level games, which at that point had started to falter. That, though, isn't a total slight on Lorenzen. If anything, it showed how deep the Phillies rotation was, and how valuable Lorenzen is because of his versatility.
The star pitcher even had hopes of playing a Shohei Ohtani-like role when he was getting going in the league.
In the postseason, Lorenzen didn't give up a single earned run, surrendering four hits in 5.1 innings of pitching. One of the biggest "what-ifs" of Rob Thompson's strategy has to have been not giving him a chance as a starter in the NLCS, though there's a case to be made that Lorenzen was better suited as a postseason reliever and that Thompson made the right choice after all.
Lorenzen's breakout season and team-first mentality will be seen as highly attractive traits by a number of teams looking for pitching help. Philadelphia may hate to see him go, but he'll be priced out due to competition. Plus, with just half a season in Philly, there's not much familiarity on either side to create much motivation for a reunion.