Harper may need been 9 once they first met. Lorenzen would have been 10.
“I remember my first time pitching against Bryce,” Lorenzen mentioned Wednesday afternoon at loanDepot park. “I’ll never forget it. It was in a tournament [in California]. He hit a double off the wall. I was like, ‘Gosh, who is that kid?’ He was really good. Then he hit another double off the wall. Then you start hearing about this legendary Bryce Harper. He’s playing for all these different travel ball teams. I’m like, ‘Oh, that was the kid.’ Then I got to play with him on the USA team when we were 16. Just certain travel ball tournaments before and after that. So I’ve known him for a while. Obviously, for him to live up to the hype is impressive. It’s always been fun to watch.”
Two a long time later, Harper and Lorenzen are teammates once more. The Phillies traded prospect Hao-Yu Lee to the Tigers on Tuesday for Lorenzen, who will make his Phillies debut in Thursday’s sequence finale towards the Marlins. The Phillies additionally acquired utility infielder Rodolfo Castro for Triple-A left-hander Bailey Falter.
Lorenzen, who will likely be a free agent after the season, will likely be a part of a six-man rotation by at the very least Aug. 13.
He can’t wait to get began.
“I have a good relationship with [pitching coach] Caleb Cotham from the Reds,” Lorenzen mentioned. “So I texted him, ‘When am I pitching?’ So he asked me what my normal rest was. I said, ‘I’m ready to go whenever you want.’ He said, ‘Is Thursday good?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Let’s do it.’ That was it.”
Lorenzen and Cotham had been teammates with the Reds in 2016. Cotham later grew to become Cincinnati’s assistant pitching coach.
“He helped me a ton over in Cincinnati in developing certain pitches,” Lorenzen mentioned. “He helped me develop my sweeper — that slider that I have now. I have two different sliders. But the sweeper was a pitch that’s been extremely good for me. Really, like, educational on what to look for in certain metrics. He’s really good at translating the numbers side of it and the analytical side of it. Not many guys who are as educated in the analytical side also played the game so recently. He was really good at translating information in how a player would be able to process it.”
Lorenzen started his profession as a starter earlier than pitching six seasons as a reliever. He returned to the rotation with the Angels in 2021, then he made his first All-Star staff with the Tigers this 12 months. Lorenzen’s expertise as a reliever was enticing to the Phillies, as a result of they really feel he offers priceless versatility.
There would possibly come a time when the Phillies ask him.
“To hit?” Lorenzen mentioned.
“I’m just kidding,” Lorenzen mentioned. “I know my first big league start in center field was against the Phillies.”
It’s true. Lorenzen is an amazing athlete who has homered seven instances in his profession, together with twice towards the Phillies. But how would he really feel a couple of potential transfer to the bullpen in September or October, if wanted?
“You come to a team like this, winning is the priority,” Lorenzen mentioned. “So we want to win ballgames. We want to go deep. I just want to be part of something great. So I’m going to trust these guys to do whatever they need to do.”
Castro mentioned the identical. He was at Triple-A Indianapolis when the Phillies acquired him. Asked the way it feels to go from taking part in Triple-A baseball for a company with out postseason expectations to taking part in within the Majors for a staff with World Series expectations, Castro mentioned, “It’s a very exciting opportunity for me. It’s a dream for any kid that plays baseball.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com