Michael Lorenzen Brings ‘Texas-Sized’ Chip On His Shoulder After Long Free Agent Wait

After a frustrating free agent market, Michael Lorenzen hopes to use the chip on his shoulder to "display what I offer" for the Texas Rangers.

Michael Lorenzen, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies from the Detroit Tigers at the deadline in 2023, was frustrated by a weak free agent market this winter. / Rich Schultz/GettyImages

SURPRISE, Ariz. —

Michael Lorenzen has a bone to pick.

Check that. He has a lot of bones to pick.

The right-hander who signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers on Friday, was frustrated by a slow-moving free agency market that he felt undervalued his talents.

The Rangers and Lorenzen both hope the angst translates into a seminal season for the 32-year-old from Fullerton, Calif.

“Pretty big, I would say. It might be the size of Texas," said Lorenzen, who was an All-Star for the Detroit Tigers last season before being traded to the Phillies.


“I'm grateful for this chip on my shoulder," he said. "maybe if I got the deal that I wanted, maybe I'm [too] comfortable, and then I'm satisfied, and I'm happy about where my family's at and we're taken care of. For me, maybe it's like the quote, 'Good is the enemy of great.' I look at that, and God had more in store for me, and he wasn't going to allow comfort to get in the way of that. So I've got a pretty big chip on my shoulder.”


Frustrated for sure, but Lorenzen is happy to join a Rangers team coming off a World Series championship and aiming for more.

"At times, it was frustrating, but when you're able to step back and change your perspective, yeah, I'm happy with how it went," he said. "I've found peace. I'm in an incredible clubhouse, I have incredible teammates, and playing with more legends. I seem to find myself on teams with a bunch of legends on it. So I can't complain, that's for sure."

Lorenzen, who turned 32 in January, will have a spot in the Rangers rotation when he's available. When he'll be ready, remains to be seen. Lorenzen has been throwing and working out on his own this spring, but the Rangers will want to put him through their own preparation before nailing down his first start. Lorenzen said he feels ready now, but knows the Rangers will have a plan that he'll follow.

"I feel like I'm ready to roll. I feel pretty built up and I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. More than anything, I'm ready to just put on display what I can offer," he said, returning to that chip. "So it doesn't matter where I'm at, what situation. I just want to go out and perform to my fullest abilities. This offseason has given me that drive to make sure that happens."

Lorenzen, who went 9-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 29 appearances, including 25 starts in 2023, saw how dangerous the Rangers offense was a year ago. And wasn't surprised to learn how good their defense was last season. The Rangers had the second fewest errors in the majors.

"What they were doing last year [offensively] was was insane," he said. "It's next level, and the fact that they play really good defense doesn't surprise me either with the quality of guys on this team. They care about both sides. That's the type of character that builds winning teams, guys who care about both sides of the ball, not just one side."

Lorenzen threw a no-hitter in his second start for the Phillies. Over the past two seasons, he is 17-15 with a 4.20 ERA. During his first seven seasons in the big leagues, he worked primarily out of the bullpen, with 26 sporadic starts for the Reds.

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