The Colorado Rockies designated right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen for assignment on Monday, ending a disappointing tenure that failed to stabilize the team’s rotation.
In a corresponding move, the Rockies recalled right-hander TJ Shook from Triple-A Albuquerque.
Lorenzen, 34, signed a one-year, $8 million contract with Colorado in January that included a $9 million club option for 2027. The deal was part of an offseason effort to add veteran arms, alongside signings of José Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano, after the Rockies endured consecutive 100-loss seasons.
Coming off a 2025 campaign with the Kansas City Royals in which he posted a 4.64 ERA and a career-high 127 strikeouts in 141⅔ innings, Lorenzen was expected to provide innings and experience.
Those expectations went unmet. In 26 appearances (25 starts) this season, Lorenzen went 3-11 with a 7.08 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 115⅔ innings. He recorded just 82 strikeouts against 49 walks, with a strikeout rate well below league average.
His ground-ball rate and walk rate were respectable, but the overall results were not. Performance at Coors Field proved especially difficult: a 9.12 ERA at home compared with 5.61 on the road. He had not recorded a win since June 27, and his final outing—a start against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 15—saw him allow six earned runs in 3⅔ innings.
The Rockies entered the trade deadline as sellers, and Lorenzen, an impending free agent, would have been a candidate for a deal under better circumstances. His struggles limited interest, and the club ultimately chose to move on with roughly six weeks remaining in the season.
As a veteran with more than five years of service time (he made his big-league debut in 2015), Lorenzen can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining the remainder of his salary. Colorado remains responsible for the money still owed on the contract.
Any team that claims him would assume those obligations, making a claim less likely.
Shook, the player recalled to take Lorenzen’s roster spot, has appeared in four games with the Rockies this year, posting a 9.53 ERA in 5⅔ innings. He has notched 11 saves at Albuquerque and described himself as a versatile “Swiss Army knife” open to starting, long relief, or shorter outings.
For a Rockies club focused on evaluating younger talent and building for the future, the decision removes a veteran who was absorbing starts without delivering results.
Lorenzen’s time in Colorado offered durability but little else, underscoring the challenges of pitching at altitude and the difficulty of finding reliable rotation help through short-term free-agent deals.
