1 Postseason pitcher the Rockies need to target this offseason

It should be no secret to anyone that the Colorado Rockies are in dire need of quality starting pitching.

According to fangraphs, the Rockies finished the 2023 season ranked 28th in pitching with a combined 5.67 ERA while allowing opponents to hit for an average of .288, the worst in baseball

The Rockies started the year off with a six man rotation that featured, Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, José Ureña and Ryan Feltner. At the end of the season, all six players failed to remain on the active roster.

Injuries and poor pitching were the backbreaker for the Colorado clubhouse and played a big part in the team's disappointing record of 59-103, earning 100 losses for the first time in franchise history.

With just three days before the regular season came to an end, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt spoke with Kevin Henry about the injury-depleted rotation and stated that the Rockies are a better team than people think and believe the injuries played a large part in the result of last season.

"At some point, every starter in our rotation was on the injured list or out for the year." - Bill Schmidt

Schmidt would go on to say that the foundation of this team is they are a better team and stated they have to get better talent.

Who is the better talent?

While this year's free agency class features tons or star-powered pitching names like Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, and Hyun-Jin Ryu, they will likely be players the Rockies will not sign this offseason.

With two aging veteran pitchers in Kershaw and Ryu, it should be a no-brainer the Rockies need to avoid signing those two to larger contracts. Ohtani would be a great addition to any roster but the reality is, the demand of money that he will require would be one contract that the Rockies will avoid as they have a history of not signing star-studded names in free agency.

However, one pitcher who is pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies will be available this offseason and could be a key veteran piece that could fill in as 3-5 slot pitcher will be available this offseason.

Michael Lorenzen, has had quite the journey before finally settling in as a starting pitcher for the Phillies.

Coming up, Lorenzen was a two way player for the Cincinatti Reds as he played in the outfield and would occassionally come in as a relief pitcher for the Reds.

Lorenzen a Southern California native would resign with his hometown team, the Los Angeles Angels in the 2022 MLB offseason as a starting pitcher for the first time in his career. During his one year in LA, he started in 18 games with the Halos pitching with a 8-6 record while putting together a win percentage of .571.

Last offseason, he signed a one year deal with the Detroit Tigers until he was traded to the Phillies at the MLB trade deadline.

In his second start with the Phillies, Lorenzen made history as he became the sixth pitcher in the MLB expansion era to throw a no-hitter in his first or second start with a new team.

So far in Philadelphia, he started in seven games while pitching with a 4-2 record and a .667 win percentage while piling up 28 strikeouts.

Lorenzen is just 31 years old and still has a few good years left in his career. If interested in coming out to the Rocky Mountains, Colorado should very well jump all over the opportunity to sign him. A pitcher like him can bring a great veteran presence to a young locker room that is learning how to win while he would be able to be a reliable pitcher who can provide quality starts. Last year, he averaged at least six innings per start.

If given the opportunity to come in as a starter for the Rockies, Lorenzen could be a great cheap addition to a pitching staff that is looking for pitchers who can go deep into games and will stay healthy.