Rockies pull plug on Lorenzen, designate him for assignment

For the Rockies, enough was enough regarding starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen.

After yet another start in which he got shelled, the team designated him for assignment Monday.

Colorado’s decision brings a frustrating — but understandable — end to a season in which Lorenzen entered Monday’s play with the worst earned-run average of any pitcher with at least 100 innings to his name this season — a 7.08 figure on track to be the worst of the 2023 All-Star’s career.

The corresponding move brings TJ Shook back to the major-league roster. Shook has four relief appearances to his name with the Rox this season, most recently at San Francisco on July 9. The right-handed reliever has a 1.322 WHIP and a 3.02 ERA over 40 appearances at AAA Albquerque this season.

Colorado had a $9 million 2027 team option on Lorenzen, but it became obvious as Lorenzen’s issues persisted that the team would not exercise it. Lorenzen couldn’t figure out Coors Field, posting a 9.12 ERA. But he didn’t do well away from Denver, either, notching a 5.61 figure on the road.

IT STARTED BADLY FOR LORENZEN WITH ROCKIES AND RARELY IMPROVED

Lorenzen allowed three earned runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings in his first Colorado start, which took place as the Rockies absorbed a season-opening sweep in Miami.

But it was in the “>home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies that the die became cast for his struggles at home.

That afternoon, Lorenzen allowed the first five Philadelphia batters to reach base — including two via walks. Then, after finally recording a strikeout, Brandon Marsh took Lorenzen deep for a three-run homer. It was 3-0 before the first out, 6-0 before the second out and finally 7-0 by the end of that disastrous inning.

“Yeah, the fastball command wasn’t there to start,” Lorenzen said after that game. “So, yeah, getting behind in counts against a lineup like that isn’t going to set you up for success in the first inning there. And then you include some hits, some singles through the infield and balls that fall in different, things like that. I’ve just gotta do better early on.”

But bright moments were few and far between for Lorenzen. He didn’t record a single quality start in 11 home appearances, never making it past the sixth inning in any of them. His only two quality starts in 26 total opportunities with the Rockies came on the road — at the New York Mets in October and the Los Angeles Dodgers last month.

Lorenzen appeared to stop the bleeding for a while in June and July. Over seven starts from June 10 through July 13, he posted a 3.22 ERA and the Rox won four of the starts. But in the five starts that followed — including three on the road — his ERA was a whopping 11.57.

At that point, the Rockies hit a point where they might as well give the starts and innings to younger options.

Lorenzen was one of three mid-30-something veterans acquired to shore up the rotation in the previous offseason. Only one can be considered a success — Tomoyuki Sugano, who took the loss Monday to the Dodgers, but is 12-6 and doesn’t seem fazed by the Coors Field conundrum. Jose Quintana remains on the 60-day injured list.

But for the Rockies and Lorenzen, the experiment is done with 37 games left in the season.

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