Shohei Ohtani is the only player to qualify for two-way designation since Major League Baseball introduced the criteria in 2020. But the potential for right-hander Michael Lorenzen to achieve two-way status is creating a fascinating twist in his free agency.
Lorenzen, who turns 33 on Jan. 4, has not hit in a major-league game since 2021, and has not had more than one plate appearance in a season since 2019. Not to worry. The idea conceived by Lorenzen and his agent, Ryan Hamill of CAA, could make the pitcher a free-agent fit for non-contenders such as the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins — and a coveted trade target later.
Hamill, according to sources briefed on his conversations, is talking with such clubs about signing Lorenzen, getting him the necessary plate appearances to qualify for two-way status and then flipping him to a contender that would benefit from carrying him as a 14th pitcher.
On June 20, 2022, the league imposed a 13-pitcher limit on each team’s 26-man roster. But players who meet the two-way requirements — pitching at least 20 innings and playing 20 games as a position player or DH, with at least three plate appearances in each game — do not count as one of the 13.
Teams that employ large numbers of platoons might not consider keeping an extra pitcher an advantage. But teams with fairly set lineups might welcome the spare arm. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be in that position next season if, as expected, Ohtani resumes pitching. If the Dodgers then traded for a two-way Lorenzen, they could choose from among 15 pitchers. Which would be the most Dodgers thing ever.
As a pitcher, Lorenzen was an All-Star and threw a no-hitter in 2023, finished 2024 with a 3.31 ERA in 130 1/3 innings and was particularly effective after the Kansas City Royals acquired him from the Texas Rangers on July 29. Under the guidance of Royals pitching coaches Brian Sweeney and Zach Bove, Lorenzen threw his sweeper harder and with greater frequency, and also increased the use of his sinker and curveball. A strained left hamstring sidelined him from Aug. 28 to Sept. 25, but his ERA in 28 2/3 innings with the Royals was 1.57.
Lorenzen is accomplished enough to generate solid free-agent interest solely as a pitcher. The two-way option, however, would make him even more attractive to contenders seeking roster flexibility. It’s doubtful a competitive team would want to give Lorenzen the 60 or so plate appearances he would need to achieve two-way status. Which is why a stop somewhere else might be necessary first.
The White Sox and Marlins, the only teams clearly not trying to improve for 2025, would be ideal fits for the scenario Lorenzen and Hamill are proposing. The Colorado Rockies might be, too, but Lorenzen probably would not want to pitch at altitude on what is likely to be a short-term deal.
Clubs attempting to take a step forward — the Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, others — probably would not want to devote DH time to Lorenzen, who batted .233 with a .710 OPS in 147 plate appearances with the Cincinnati Reds from 2015 to ‘21. The St. Louis Cardinals, embarking upon a reset, likely would prefer to give those plate appearances to younger players.
But the White Sox and Marlins? They’re already giving up, the White Sox by trading lefty Garrett Crochet with center fielder Luis Robert Jr. possibly to follow, the Marlins by trading infielder Jake Burger with left-hander Jesús Luzardo possibly next. Giving 60 or so plate appearances to Lorenzen would be a minor concession by comparison, particularly when his pitching likely would compensate for his hitting. And when such a condition is the only way he would even join one of those clubs.
Most if not all of Lorenzen’s plate appearances could come in games in which he was the starting pitcher. The so-called Ohtani rule, adopted in 2022, allows a starting pitcher who hits for himself to remain in the game as a DH even if he is pulled for a reliever. If healthy, Lorenzen could approach or reach 20 starts by the deadline, and that would give him enough or close to enough games as a position player.
But say a team such as the White Sox or Marlins wanted to push it. It could use Lorenzen as a DH even on certain days he doesn’t pitch, conceivably meeting the 20-game position-player standard by the end of April. At that point, the team would not need to wait until the deadline to trade him, and possibly could extract even greater value by acting sooner rather than later. Lorenzen, as a free-agent addition, would need to approve any trade that was completed before June 15. But why wouldn’t he? The whole point of his plan would be to get to a contender.
Both the White Sox and Marlins might consider the whole thing too tricky, too gimmicky. Both might be reluctant to foist such an arrangement on new managers (though Lorenzen worked last season with the White Sox’s Wil Venable, who was then the Rangers’ associate manager). But assuming Lorenzen‘s contract requirements were within reason, both would have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Non-contenders routinely sign free agents with the goal of moving the player at the deadline, the way the Detroit Tigers did when they sent Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023. But with a two-way designation, and the possibility of becoming an extra pitcher for his next team, Lorenzen would bring an even greater return.
A player who meets the two-way conditions carries that status into the following year. So, if Lorenzen signed a two-year deal, he could serve as an extra pitcher not just in the coming season, but also the next. The downside for the White Sox or Marlins would appear minimal. Who is the White Sox player who might lose DH at-bats, Oscar Colás? Zach DeLoach? How about the Marlins? Derek Hill? Deyvison De Los Santos?
Either team could feature The Lorenzen Countdown on its scoreboard, counting off the days until he is two-way eligible and official trade bait. Some might call it a mockery, but in reality it’s an opportunity. And it all would be permissible under the rules, to the benefit of every party involved.
(Top photo of Michael Lorenzen in October 2024: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
