Former Angels starting pitcher re-signing with the Kansas City Royals

After bouncing around the league for the past four seasons, this former Angels' starting pitcher is settling down for the time being. Michael Lorenzen is re-upping with the Kansas City Royals for the 2025 season where he is set to make $7 million, with a $12 million mutual option for 2026. His $7 million in 2025 will be the highest AAV of his career, slightly eclipsing the $6.75 million he made with the Los Angeles Angels back in 2022.

The Angels signed Lorenzen before the 2022 season as a full-time starter, which he had not been since his 2015 season with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds drafted Lorenzen in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and spent the first seven years of his career with them before signing with the Angels in free agency. Lorenzen did not turn in the best season in his lone season with the Angels, struggling with poor K:BB numbers. Much like José Soriano's first season as a starter, Lorenzen experienced fatigue and subsequently spent some time on the Injured List. His fastball velocity began to tick down once converting, but his off-speed began to materialize as a real weapon. Since he departed, however, he truly started blossoming -- showcasing why the Angels took a flier on him in the first place (what else is new?).

Piggy-backing off his off-speed development with the Angels as a full-time starter, Lorenzen began to tap into the effectiveness of his slider. Through what appeared to be trial and error, Lorenzen quit throwing his sweeper as much (he threw a ton of sweepers with LAA) and pivoted more to his biting, cutter-like slider. Similarly, he relied heavily on a cutter in 2024, after not utilizing that before-hand. He posted an off-speed run value that was in the 97th percentile last season. That does not include his four-seam, two-seam, or cutter, but instead his slider, changeup, sweeper, and curveball. Lorenzen is incredibly analytical with his approach, despite seeming like a laid-back SoCal guy (he was born in Anaheim). Between his time with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies in 2023, he accumulated a 2.0 bWAR as well as his first All Star appearance. 2024 was the best year of his career in terms of bWAR, as he posted a total of 2.6 between the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

There are no indications that Lorenzen will be designated as a two-way player for the Royals, even after recent reports that he could help a team's roster-building by doing so. Lorenzen clearly prioritized the continuity of staying with a contender in the Royals, where he thrived, over signing with a team like the Chicago White Sox or Miami Marlins and potentially hitting again.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout