Throughout the offseason, the importance of adding to the starting rotation has been acknowledged by members of both the Pirates' front office and coaching staff.
Marco Gonzalez and Martin Perez were offseason additions, but there is still a need for more starting pitching depth heading into spring training. Mitch Keller, Gonzalez and Perez are all but locked into starting roles, while a few in-house options are set to battle for the final two spots in the rotation.
Could we still see a name added to the mix via free agency?
Let’s take a look at three potential targets the Pirates could realistically consider:
MICHAEL LORENZEN
Lorenzen, 32, is a free agent after a career year that saw him split time between the Tigers and Phillies.
He made a career-high 29 appearances and 25 starts, boasting a 4.18 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. He wasn’t blowing guys away with his 6.5 K/9 rate and 111 strikeouts in a career-high 153 innings, but he did show quality command with a 2.8 BB/9.
Lorenzen was at his best through his 18-outing stretch with the Tigers, a stint that included his first ever All-Star selection. He posted a 3.58 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 83 strikeouts and 27 walks in 105 2/3 innings.
He did struggle down the stretch after a trade-deadline deal to Philadelphia. After two strong starts that included a no-hitter against Washington on Aug.9, Lorenzen allowed three or more earned runs in five consecutive starts before making four straight relief appearances to end the season.
Lorenzen brings with him a seven-pitch repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and sinker. He benefitted from relying heavily on his fastball and slider last season, averaging 94.3 mph and 85.2 with those respective pitches. He relied on his fastball 34.7% of the time, while turning to his slider (23.2%) and changeup (21.6%) to often mix things up. Opposing hitters were limited to a .211 clip against his fastball, as well as averages of .242 against his slider and .186 against his changeup.
While he failed to impress in the final month and a half of the season, Lorenzen may still be worth a look here, especially if he could replicate the success he found in Detroit.
And if the Pirates were to decide to go in another direction in terms of the starting rotation, Lorenzen could be a candidate for relief work after spending a majority of his seven-year career with the Reds in the bullpen
It’s a situation where he could help the team regardless of his role.
HYUN JIN RYU
By the time the season begins, Ryu will be 37 years old, but he’s a veteran who proved down the stretch last year that he might still have something left in the tank.
After being limited to 11 starts with the Blue Jays following his return from Tommy John Surgery last season, Ryu showed his worth with a 3.46 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He threw five-plus innings in seven of his outings and allowed three-plus runs on just three occasions. He had a three-start stretch in August where he didn’t allow an earned run through 14 innings of work.
Ryu certainly isn’t the same pitcher he was early in his career, or even just a few years ago when he was a legitimate Cy Young candidate in 2019 and 2020. He's also only thrown 79 innings over the last two seasons, which could be a factor in why he's still available with pitchers and catchers already starting to report for workouts.
Still, it might be worth a shot to give an experienced arm of his caliber a look on a one-year deal. Perhaps a veteran with his track record of success is what the Pirates need in its search for back-end rotation help.
ERIC LAUER
Lauer, 28, should be a familiar face to Pirates fans after spending the last four seasons in the NL Central with Milwaukee.
He’s coming off a rough 2023 campaign that saw him deal with multiple injuries, including a right shoulder impingement that landed him on the injured list in May. Through 10 appearances and nine starts, Lauer had a 6.56 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP and a 7.41 FIP. He was still collecting strikeouts at a nice rate (8.3 K/9), but his struggles really stemmed from his 4.6 BB/9 rate and the 16 home runs he allowed in 46 2/3 innings.
Lauer did experience a drop in velocity with his fastball, a pitch he threw 43.2% of the time last season, but given what he was able to do in 2021 and 2022, he could be a bounce-back candidate. During those two campaigns, Lauer was 18-12 with a 3.47 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and a 4.30 FIP. Relying heavily on that four-seam fastball that averaged around 93 mph and held opposing hitters to a .193 average in 2022, Lauer collected 274 strikeouts and walked 100 in 277 1/3 innings over two years.
There is a bit more risk here considering all that Lauer endured with his on-field struggles and the injuries that kept him off the field last year. I suppose you could consider him a reclamation project, but I'd rather classify him as an under-the-radar option that could turn into a steal if he can return to form.
