New acquisition Michael Lorenzen sees plenty of familiar faces as he joins the Phillies

MIAMI — When Michael Lorenzen walked into the visiting clubhouse at LoanDepot Park on Wednesday afternoon, he was not entering a room full of strangers. The 31-year-old right-hander played USA Baseball with Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. He played alongside Brandon Marsh last year with the Angels. He was teammates with Jeff Hoffman and Nick Castellanos in Cincinnati, and with Dylan Covey in high school.

All of this familiarity has made joining a new organization — which became official on Wednesday, when the Phillies added him to the active roster — much easier. Lorenzen was one of two Phillies acquisitions from Tuesday’s trade deadline. The other was infielder Rodolfo Castro, who was acquired from the Pirates for left-hander Bailey Falter.

» READ MORE: No trade would have been a bigger addition than these 55-game versions of the Phillies’ underachieving stars

Lorenzen didn’t waste any time in reaching out to his new coaching staff, specifically pitching coach Caleb Cotham. Before Cotham switched over to coaching, he and Lorenzen were teammates with the Reds. He also coached Lorenzen in Cincinnati, which is where he helped him develop his sweeper.

Lorenzen texted Cotham after he learned of the trade.

“When am I pitching?” he asked.

“What is your normal rest?” Cotham replied.

“I’m ready to go whenever you want,” Lorenzen responded.

They agreed that Thursday’s matinee in Miami would be his first start. For now, Lorenzen will pitch out of a six-man rotation, which is something he’s used to. He pitched out of a six-man rotation with the Angels in 2022. There’s a possibility he’ll see some time out of the bullpen as well. Lorenzen, who broke in as a starter with the Reds in 2015, has been used as a reliever for most of his career. He only transitioned to starting again last season, and all of his 36 appearances with the Angels and Tigers were starts.

It’s been a good move. Lorenzen’s command has improved this season, dropping his walk rate from 10.7% in 2022 to 6.5% in 2023.

“[I’m] just simplifying it,” he said. “Not trying to make too good of pitches. Having the catcher set up more middle knowing I’m probably not going to throw it right down the middle. Trusting my stuff. It’s worked out. Early outs. Low pitch counts. Weak contact. We’ve done a really good job over in Detroit of developing some two-strike skill.

“So, strike-to-ball skill. I’ve been seeing the benefits in my strikeouts going up. First, let’s get you in the zone. And once you’re comfortable with getting in the zone, let’s try to work on that two-strike skill. I feel like I’m in a really good spot there. I’m excited to bring that here.”

When Lorenzen says strike-to-ball skill, he means throwing pitches that at first look like strikes and end up as balls. He said he was throwing a lot of strike-to-strike sliders, with two strikes, that ended up catching a lot of the plate. So, he adjusted.

» READ MORE: Murphy: Phillies pay a high price but get a player in Michael Lorenzen who fills a big role

“We ended up putting a lot of work into, ‘Let’s do a slider where it started in the zone and ended out of the zone,’” he said. “And there’s a skill to it. The guys that we have here are really good at it. Like [Aaron] Nola, he’s excellent at it. He’s good at going ball-to-strike. Starting it off the plate and ending it in the zone for two-strike takes. ...

“It’s my second year starting, so there’s skills to develop. I feel like Detroit did a really good job developing those skills. I feel like I’m in a good spot, and I’m happy to bring it here.”

Like Lorenzen, Castro was also added to the active roster on Wednesday. After playing in 78 of the Pirates’ first 89 games, he had been playing with triple-A Indianapolis. To be traded to a contending team and added to its 26-man roster was a whirlwind.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for me,” he said. “That’s the dream of any kid who plays baseball. To be on a winning team and have a chance to make it to a World Series. So I want to help this team win games and contribute any way I can.”

Castro, 24, primarily plays second base but said he feels comfortable at third base and shortstop, too. To make room for Castro and Lorenzen on the roster, the Phillies designated utility player Josh Harrison for assignment, and released him, and designated left-hander Andrew Vasquez for assignment. Vasquez will go through waivers.

Manager Rob Thomson said that they let Vasquez go because he wasn’t getting an opportunity.

“I think that, to be honest, Covey has just pitched better,” Thomson said. “Vasquez didn’t really have much of an opportunity. But when he did pitch, he did all right.

» READ MORE: Ranking the top 10 Phillies trades of all time

“[Covey] is developing a new pitch to help him with lefties. But the fastball plays. There’s some good sink on it. Gets some ground balls off of it, especially with right-handed hitters. But trying to work in a change/split kind of deal to help with the lefties. And now, with seven guys, not only is he the long guy but he’s always going to have to take down some higher-leverage situations.”

Covey has a 2.25 ERA in five appearances in July. Vasquez had a 5.79 ERA over five appearances in July.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto was out of the starting lineup again on Wednesday after scraping a hand while sliding in Monday’s game. His skin hasn’t healed yet, which makes it hard for him to swing. Thomson said Realmuto would be available in an emergency on Wednesday. The Phillies are going to take another look at him on Thursday.