Detroit Tigers Trade All-Star Pitcher to Philadelphia Phillies For Top Prospect

The Detroit Tigers have traded starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, per reports.

The Detroit Tigers have traded starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline.

Jon Morosi of the MLB Network first had the report:

Tigers are close to trading Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies. Infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee is part of the proposed return heading to Detroit. 

Tigers are close to trading Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies.

Infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee is part of the proposed return heading to Detroit. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 1, 2023

The 31-year-old Lorenzen is enjoying a good season this year - his first in Detroit. He made the All-Star Game and has gone 5-7 with a 3.58 ERA over 18 games. He's made 18 starts and has pitched to a 1.098 WHIP.

He's in his ninth year in the big leagues with the Reds, Angels and Tigers. The Cal State Fullerton product is a lifetime 36-36 with a 4.02 ERA.

As for the return, Lee is the only player going to Detroit. He is a 20-year-old infielder who was ranked the Phillies No. 5 prospect per MLB.com. Here's a portion of his prospect profile:

The 5-foot-10 infielder has the chance to be a very good hitter, with a clean swing and an advanced approach at the plate. Lee is a baseball rat who loves to work on his hitting and makes a ton of contact, striking out in just over 19 percent of his 2022 plate appearances while walking 12.3 percent of the time. There’s power in that compact frame and he’s added 10 pounds of muscle to it, which should help him impact the ball even more moving forward.

Lee’s instincts serve him well on the basepaths and defensively. He knows how to steal a base and runs the bases aggressively

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