Blue Jays: Michael Lorenzen elects free agency
Photo credit: © Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2026, 17:15 EDTUpdated: Sep 22, 2026, 17:14 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching depth has taken a bit of a hit in recent days.
Following being designated for assignment, right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen has elected free agency, ending his tenure in the Blue Jays after just under four weeks.
Lorenzen joined the Blue Jays on August 27th as a free agent. Appearing in six games with the Blue Jays, the righty finished with an 8.49 ERA and 7.47 FIP in 11.2 innings of work, with the Blue Jays going 2-4 in games that he appeared in.
After another tough outing on September 15th where he gave up five earned runs over two innings of work against the Detroit Tigers, Lorenzen was designated for assignment to open up room on the 40-man and 26-man rosters for José Rodríguez. It was the second time the 34-year-old was designated for assignment this season, as he started his 2026 season on the Colorado Rockies.
Over 32 games this season, Lorenzen made 25 starts where he has a 7.21 ERA and 5.45 FIP in 127.1 innings of work. The 34-year-old will likely finish with a career-low strikeout rate of 14.5%, while his BB% of 8.7 percent is well up from his 6.4 BB% in 2025.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays were unable to get the best out of the right-handed pitcher, as he’s had some good years in the past. In 2024, he finished the season with a 3.31 ERA over 130.1 innings of work. Back in 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds, Lorenzen finished with a 2.92 ERA and 3.66 FIP in 83.1 innings of work, slightly worse than his career-best 2.88 ERA he set in 2016.
His struggles were bad news for the Blue Jays, who were in the race for the final wild card spot while he was on the roster. His last outing against the Tigers has turned out to be the beginning of the end, as the Jays have lost four of their last six games, falling to essentially four and a half games behind the final wild card.
The need for Lorenzen stems from plenty of injuries to their starting rotation, which in turn has caused the bullpen to be exhausted. On top of a struggling offence, the Blue Jays’ season has been doomed from the start.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.
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