PITTSBURGH – Michael Lorenzen put in the work, fought through injuries and he was left with disappointment when he wasn’t rewarded for it.
He rehabbed for three months from a shoulder strain, which ruined his opportunity to be a starting pitcher. He suffered a grade 3 hamstring strain and returned in 11 days.
One of the most athletic players in the league pushed his body to the limit, but the Cincinnati Reds fell short of the playoffs. Lorenzen finished with a career-high 5.59 ERA across 27 appearances and the second-lowest strikeout rate of his career.
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Now he’s preparing for his first journey through free agency. He hasn’t ruled out a return to the Reds – “someone told me never to close any doors,” he said – but he seems likely to end up elsewhere next year.
“Man, a lot of ups and a lot of downs, just like my seven years in Cincinnati,” Lorenzen said of his 2021 season. “I’m happy with how I’m able to bounce back, go out there, compete and try to give the team the best that I can whether I was 100% or not.
“You hope when you do the right things that it would pay you back, but that’s not how life works. You can work as hard as you can. You can make certain sacrifices and put your body on the line. You would assume things should go my way if I’m going to do that. Like I said, it’s life.”
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Lorenzen, who will turn 30 in January, injured his hamstring in his season debut when he scored the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. When he limped to the training room, he thought his season was over. A few days afterward, one coach said he was impressed Lorenzen was walking, let alone preparing to return to the mound the following week.
He tore his hamstring further when he successfully fielded a bunt from Pittsburgh’s Colin Moran in a one-run game on Aug. 8, but he found ways to pitch through it. He was unable to sprint at full speed for the remainder of the season, though he tried to make himself available to help in a two-way role if the Reds qualified for the playoffs.
“That’s why it sucks when the year ends the way it’s going to end and everything,” Lorenzen said during the last series of the season. “You want your discipline and your work to be rewarded and this game doesn’t do that. It’s frustrating. Literally, all day, every day, I’m just focused on the hamstring and getting it ready to do my job.”
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Lorenzen pitched better than his numbers showed, stabilizing the bullpen throughout the second half of the season. He earned four saves as he often handled high-leverage situations in the seventh or eighth innings, teaming with Mychal Givens and Lucas Sims to protect leads.
He struggled with the command of his changeup for most of his season, which is typically one of his primary put-away pitches. He allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks in his last two outings, which ballooned his ERA from 3.62 to 5.59.
“Usually, I’m going to have my ups and downs during the year, but over the grand scheme of things, I’m going to be fine," Lorenzen said. "This is where you look and you’re like, I need more time to be able to do that.”
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As Lorenzen enters free agency for the first time, he’s hopeful a team will give him a chance to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He knows there will be some hesitancy because injuries pushed him into a reliever’s role throughout his career.
Three times he competed for a spot in the starting rotation and a different injury popped up each time: He sprained a ligament in his elbow in 2016, strained the teres major muscle near his right shoulder in 2018 and had a shoulder strain this year.
What sticks out to Lorenzen is the injuries occurred in spring training and not in the regular season. He showed his durability as a reliever, completing at least 80 innings from 2017-19, and he finished the season in the Reds’ rotation in 2018 and 2020 with solid results.
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“Never been hurt during the season and I throw a ton,” Lorenzen said. “I’m available every night. Rarely do I tell (manager) David (Bell), I would say after I went three (days) in a row, I went in and I was like, ‘David, I really wanted to be available tonight, but I’m not available tonight.’ Like I throw a lot. I’m throwing off the mound even when I’m not in games. I’m warming up. The fact my arm can withstand that during the season, it just shows me I need to do something different before I come to spring training. It’s not starting. It’s none of that.”
Lorenzen was the fourth-longest tenured Reds player behind Joey Votto, Tucker Barnhart and Eugenio Suárez. He was one of the club’s most reliable relievers for several years.
Assuming Lorenzen signs elsewhere during the offseason, the Reds will have to reshape the back of their bullpen. Givens is another free agent and they’re without Tejay Antone for the entire 2022 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery.
Lorenzen was frustrated with how things ended last week, but he remains confident in his own future.
“Some unlucky things happened and things that are out of your control,” he said. “It can be frustrating, but you just have to keep moving forward. This season, it wasn’t ideal obviously. Didn’t finish ideal. None of it was really ideal, but that’s life. You just have to keep pushing forward and thank God for every opportunity.
“You know me. I’m willing to bet on myself.”
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