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Why the Blue Jays signed 34-year-old pitcher recently released by worst team in the National League

Published Aug 27, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  3 minute read

Cccording to mlb.com, Michael Lorenzen has the highest ERA among pitchers who have thrown 100 innings or more in the majors this season. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham /Getty Images

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The Blue Jays season-long desperation to find enough arms to get through 27 outs a night to stay in the post-season race has led them to another well-travelled veteran pitcher going through a rough stretch.

Hours before Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, the Jays signed 34-year-old veteran Michael Lorenzen to a one-year contract. Lorenzen, who most recently pitched for the Colorado Rockies, was in the Toronto clubhouse and was active for Thursday’s series finale against the Royals.

The Jays aren’t getting an ace, by any means — according to mlb.com, Lorenzen has the highest ERA among pitchers who have thrown 100 innings or more in the majors this season.

But with options few and far between and the team desperate to continue its chase for an AL wildcard spot, the team felt it was worth a shot.

Jays manager John Schneider didn’t reveal exactly how Lorenzen would be used, but the attraction — such as it is — is that Lorenzen is as durable as they come. And given the debacle that was unfolding on the field later that night, he didn’t have to wait long.

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With the Royals throttling the Jays, who were coming off a bullpen day the night previous, Schneider had no choice but to call for the new-guy right-hander. Lorenzen came in for the seventh and the eighth in the Jays 12-2 blowout loss, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk, while striking out two.

“Literally whatever you want,” Schneider said of his first discussion with Lorenzen and what the big righty said he could bring to the lineup. “I can throw 100 pitches. You can try to break me, but it’s not going to a work.”

The potential quality of those pitches aside, that versatility could come in handy for a Jays pitching staff that has been both ravaged by injury and heavily used.

Most recently, the right hander was with the Rockies where he made 25 starts this season and was knocked around to the tune of a 7.08 ERA over 115.2 innings of work.

He was released by the Rockies last week, but Lorenzen told Schneider that he’s been pitching and ready to go when needed.

Over his career, the Anaheim native has pitched in 12 MLB seasons for seven different teams. As recently as 2023, when he was with the Tigers, Lorenzen was an all star. His most recent appearance was on Aug. 15, a failed attempt to record his first win since the end of June.

In a word, injuries.

With Shane Bieber sent off to the injured list with a shoulder ailment earlier this week, it was just the latest blow to a Jays rotation that has been ravaged by injuries this season.

There is hope that Jameson Tailon, a pickup just before the trade deadline, will be back soon. He’s scheduled to pitch a rehab assignment on Friday for triple-A Buffalo.

Until then, the Jays need help and Lorenzen is a possibility, with the added benefit of being available out of the bullpen.

“Availability for length. Availability for a lot of different things and with our bullpen in flux in terms of availability,” Schneider said of the attraction to Lorenzen. “You pick up a guy who has done it before and has done it before

“Just talking to him, he said you can throw me every day. He’s here and ready to help however.”

In a corresponding move, the Jays sent righty Chad Dallas back to triple A Buffalo.

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