The Minnesota Twins are scrambling for answers, and the latest name to surface is a familiar one: Michael Lorenzen.
After a 4-10 start to August pushed Minnesota deeper into trouble in the chase for the final American League Wild Card spot, the club’s starting pitching shortage has become impossible to ignore. That need is what led the Twins to shop aggressively at the trade deadline, and it’s also why a pitcher like Lorenzen could end up back on their radar after the Colorado Rockies designated him for assignment Monday.
Lorenzen’s season has gone off the rails. The 34-year-old is 3-11 with a 7.08 ERA in 2026, and his most recent outing may have closed the book in Colorado for good.
He was lit up for six runs in 3.2 innings against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 15.
Over his last eight starts, he has averaged 6.09 walks per nine innings, and Baseball Savant has him at an 8.7 percent walk rate and a 24.4 percent chase rate.
Still, the Twins have spent this season looking for any arm that might help stabilize the rotation, and Lorenzen fits the definition of a low-risk flier. Minnesota passed on him twice before, once in the winter of 2024 and again before that season’s trade deadline. Now, with the pitching crisis only getting worse, that history might not matter much.
There is at least some track record to point to. Lorenzen has spent 12 seasons in the majors and owns a 57-66 record with a 4.40 ERA. Two years ago, he was effective with the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, going 7-6 with a 3.31 ERA in 26 games, 24 of them starts.
The bigger issue is whether there’s enough left to salvage. Coors Field can explain some damage, but it doesn’t explain away the control problems that have followed him. For a team in Minnesota’s position, though, the question may simply be whether there’s anything better available.
The Twins’ rotation has been a mess for most of the year, carrying a 4.60 ERA in 655.1 innings entering Monday’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves. Since the All-Star break, the problems have only deepened, with the team ranking 27th with a 4.84 ERA in 27 games.
Injuries have been a huge part of the collapse. Pablo López and Mick Abel are out for the season, Joe Ryan is on the injured list with a glute strain, Bailey Ober was tagged for five runs in a 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 11, and Connor Prelipp has been uneven while also pushing to a career-high in innings pitched.
Taj Bradley has given the group a lift, but the rest of the rotation is in rough shape. That reality makes even a pitcher with Lorenzen’s problems part of the conversation.
The Twins can still decide to pass. But with their August slide and their rotation in flames, another veteran arm like Lorenzen is exactly the sort of desperate swing Minnesota may have to consider.
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