Kansas City Royals trade for right-hander Michael Lorenzen from Texas Rangers

I just want to start off by uh saying thank you to Walter Pennington I think you all know what a a great story he has been for our organization I think it's a testament to our scouting Department Player Development H and Walter himself for putting all the the hard work he put in to reach the major leagues this year and we wish him nothing but the best and on the other side of it uh we're happy that we've been able to acquire a veteran pitcher for us that we think can help us in a lot of different ways uh a lot of great experience iences uh throughout his career and uh we thought he was a good fit especially in light of you know some of the things that happened yesterday and how fragile uh this season can be so we had an opportunity last night to dig a little bit deeper uh with the Rangers and we're able to capitalize on him being available so um so we're happy Michael's GNA be a royal all right uh Pete start us off hey JJ what's the do you know the role for Michael now is he going to be in the rotation still to be determined you know we we still have to get a handle on what's going on with uh with shriber we feel fine about Hunter Harvey but we got to see how he feels today um but it's to be determined we know he started this year he's thrown in relief uh he's filled both roles so in a lot of ways he he is very very good insurance for us regardless of what his role and we think it'll just play out in time and when do you expect I mean you the shriber news you think you might hear something more is that yeah well I mean he's very likely to go on the I um we're gonna see how he feels he's getting an MRI this morning we'll see how he feels what the doctors say um but we we expect him to go on the iil how long it'll be is really to be determined uh but with Hunter we feel like it's probably dayto day with him all right uh Annie JJ did this come together pretty quickly then right after the game yesterday based on what happened yeah we had been talking to the Rangers uh about Lorenzen and they were you know their their past week was going to determine what direction they went in uh I don't want to speak for them but I think it's pretty well known that they have some arms coming back off the iil here very shortly uh and they're competing to to get in the playoffs uh so when they officially made him available uh that's when the talks picked up and it just coincidentally was last night which was good timing for us and it was just something we felt like we needed to act on pretty quickly uh because if he's out on the market uh the the market can get more competitive so we we thought we had a window here to try to close on a deal pretty fast and I know you said you know you'll wait to see how things move with with just the bullpen um but is there a chance he he makes starts for you guys and you guys kind of reassess your your rotation here um in the second half yeah there there's a chance he makes starts for us um you know we we've all talked pretty openly about the number of innings our pitchers have thrown uh so that's something that if we decided to skip starts or do something along the way we have another person that we we know is very capable of making starts so we would expect him at some point to make starts it's just a matter of when and uh I know q and Brian Sweeney they're digesting everything uh right now and talking about it so we'll see how it goes and and make that determination along the way all right uh Jaylen uh JJ how does this change the rest of how you're going to attack the the the trade deadline heading into tomorrow yeah I I think whatever happens or doesn't happen also will have an effect on what roles guys slide into uh moving forward but we've got you know a little over 24 hours until the deadline ends so we'll keep working hard today on on different things and see what evolves and if something you know our our roster changes it may have an effect on other people's roles but uh we're going to keep working hard at it you know we we've talked about the need for a right-handed bat so we're going to keep working at that and then um you know still again you know it was a good reminder yesterday of how fragile season can be uh getting depth in your Bullpen is very important and uh we'll keep working at that as well appreciate it Joel JJ how much of this I know you're still looking potentially for arms is is a reflection of the market and how how pricey relievers are and was this a a way just to to add depth and and go from there it is this something creatively that kind of came up recently Beyond just the the injuries yesterday yeah it it fit what we're trying to do um you know at least in our assessment of Trades that have been made uh there's been a lot of prospect value given up uh for players that either have a year of control or no control or two years of control uh and we're trying to thread that needle we're trying to be very realistic and add to this club and help this team achieve what they've worked so hard to achieve and that's to be competitive and try to make the playoffs and at the same time we want to be very cognizant of our future and some of the deals that have taken place while we respect them they were areas we we wouldn't go um so you know this was right in that sweet spot of what we were comfortable doing and I think the versatility of of of Michael made it even more attractive uh so um yeah this this fell right in where where our comfort zone is all right uh Todd yeah JJ could you characterize what this last week or so leading up to the deadlines been like this it more difficult trade deadline easier tougher what's it been like um I I I I wouldn't say it's been tough I I think we've kind of set up our own guard rails what we know what we'll do and won't and won't do uh what players we won't trade uh we've been very clear with with clubs that there's some lines we're not going to cross and we were very uh accepting of if nothing happened by the end of this deadline other than Hunter Harvey that we had a team that could compete and can continue to compete through the end of the year um but that's a that's a delicate balance uh we know the clubhouse wants to improve the club that that's the nature of the game uh so we're aware of that as well but we get we have to do what's right for the or organization short term but even more so long term so the it's kind of gone the way you would expect it to go there's some tempting things out there that we stay discipline to what we think we need to do right now and we were very accepting when a player went off the board that we didn't get him you know it was fine as long as you know we were comfortable in passing on potential deals we were fine with it so um you know you like to add good players there's no doubt but uh you know that it may not always go your way all right uh Pete he just follow up one question JJ is there would you consider a six rotation or is this just more of kind of a filler type thing yeah no that that's that is being discussed you know that's one of when you look at all the options we have that is something we can discuss it's not six-man rotations aren't for the long term they're for times when you have a long string of games uh you know we're in the middle of one right now 13 straight games we have one again the end of August going into September uh you know with somebody like Michael and and the starters that we have that is something we can at least kick around decide if it's best for the organization or or I'm sorry for the team um but a lot of that also depends on how the bullpen has been used I mean if the bullpen is being used a lot it's hard to go with a six-man rotation and seven uh relievers if the bullpen is not being used much then you can consider a six-man rotation so that is something that that we can kick around and it is an option it's not ideal uh unless you you you can use it as a way to get an extra off dat for a St all right uh John Harvey hey JJ uh being that we're in Chicago and they got a ton of trade chips that have not been moved yet um have you had conversations with them and do you know their kind of opinion on trading with you guys or within the division yeah I I can't get into the specifics of that but yes we have been talking to Chicago uh we have a good idea of of who they're going to move uh I I again I don't want to speak for them but I could simply say yes we've had discussions yes they have players that would fit our organization but I think the ball is more in their Court uh on whether or not they would want to do any deals with us all right Mick hey JJ you've mentioned yesterday a couple of times and the Royals have struggled this year and winning those rubber games is it clear to make a serious run here to the playoffs that you're going to have to start finishing off a lot more of these Series yeah you guys aren't gonna like my answer on this but to me there's no such thing as a rubber game we're they're not elimination games in the regular season um I know that a lot of more recently has been made of that you make the playoffs and you win 90 games nobody's looking back to see if you won the rubber games every game's equal and it would actually be the exact opposite of everything we talk about to worry about today um so we happen to lose a a third game of a Series yesterday it's just another game it it's not you don't get extra points for winning Series so we're not overly concerned with it our concern would be more that we didn't win the game yesterday you that's that's really what we're more more concerned about but um you know we're trying to get to the playoffs and every game counts whether it's a third game of the series or a first game or a second game so we just look at it differently and again it it sort of flies in the face of the messaging that Q has shared with our team that it's about today we start thinking about three game sets we're we're getting away from that and that's part of why I think we've been able to to have success and be fairly consistent throughout the year uh Carlos you're up hi JJ this season is a sucess season the last year the Royals only won 56 time and right now we have more win things in the year what is the mood of the clue house or is the role to do the leader of the teams like salvados perz or boywood Jr yeah we we're proud of the fact that we've won more games this year than at this point than we did all of last year um I can say like our expectation was that we would do that at some point we didn't know when it would happen um so we expected to win more games than last year um you know and you know I know this has been shared I mean there's a lot of new faces in that Clubhouse and there's guys in there that have no idea what we're talking about when we talk about winning 56 games last year to them it was just I'm coming to a team that I think can win and get to the playoffs um so they don't think about last year I understand why uh people are excited about it and it's a story in the industry and across baseball and that's great I'm just proud of the fact that that we're playing well and who knows where our win total is at the end of the year um but we've passed that 56 game Mark so hopefully it continues to be a good story and at the end of the season we're talking about a 30 some game turnaround but a lot has to happen for uh us to accomplish that all right uh Sam McDon let's give it a try hey JJ sorry if you can't hear me too well um just wondering first of all what you thought of Reagan vo bouncing back yesterday but also just what kind of signs you will look for in some of your veterans to determine if they might need one of those starts off that you mentioned a possibility of yeah so um you know with Cole I know A lot's been said and and understandably so you know why his velocity had dropped but we were aware of it we weren't concerned with it and the reason we weren't concerned with it was because you know our medical staff uh does a great job in keeping up and informing us of where his strength is and if he's fatigued at all we have ways of measuring that he was his assessments were very strong so we didn't have concern with that um you know he wasn't getting out of his delivery he wasn't trying to force velocity at 93 you know when his velocity was down a little bit his delivery looked the same so all the indicators were strong that he was fine he was just going through you know maybe a little bit of a a spell of you know fatigue that wasn't showing up in strength so uh and then as far as the six rotation and skipping starts you know there are things that you know we can talk to our pitchers about uh knowing the guys the way that we know them I don't think they're going to want to skip a start I it's not in their nature they're gonna want to take the ball um so that's where the communication between Brian and Q myself uh with these starters is really important and if they see an opportunity maybe get an extra day or two we'll present it and we can cover it now uh if they don't want to do it we'll respect that as long as we don't see any reason to skip that you know and really we haven't so far so we feel good about them going every fifth day once we get past um next Thursday you know we do have an off day every week so they are getting an extra day you know so it's built in already in our schedule until we get to the end of August beginning of September uh but it just gives us options now if that's something we could use to help us get through the season it's now an option for us all right uh Joel bring us home all right um JJ you talked about just sort of this push with the schedule and obviously you got to get to next week and Thursday do you do you play short with the trade now for he pitched yesterday and the day before so is there is there a little bit of a a crunch here for a couple days yeah well uh you know we've got somebody in Chicago that will be active today uh Michael was in St Louis and he's got to get back to Texas to get his family so we're waiting to hear back from him uh when he's going to report but we don't expect him uh to be active tomorrow it just depends on his travel so you know he was hit with this this morning at about 9:00 am so we were gonna touch base again later on H his wife's Cassie they've got a a year and a half old daughter um so he's got to uproot them and get them moving uh whether they stop in Kansas City and on the way to Detroit uh so we'll we'll know more uh on on his report date but I I wouldn't expect it to be today or tomorrow but you don't lose a roster spot on him until he reports or no no that's there there's built-in travel time and uh you know he he's gonna have I don't quote me on this but I believe it's 72 hours he has to report I believe that's the the rule and I just want to ask you I mean he he started two days ago didn't make it out of the first and then came back and pitched four yesterday I'm curious what that sort of speaks to him and his versatility I I'm glad you brought that up that that really stood out to us we had a scout in stands on Saturday obviously didn't have a great start yesterday they had something happen to their starter and we we can only assume that he went and said hey I'm available and and threw four Innings yesterday and everything that we've been told about Michael uh from his time in Philadelphia Detroit and previous stops Cincinnati is that he's a he's a team guy he's a warrior he's going to do what the team needs and I think it just happen happened you know we got a great example here in the last two days of of what he's about so I'm looking forward to talking to him about that to find out exactly what happened but the appearance of it from the outside looking in and our Scout being in the stands um it certainly appears like he said hey give me the ball and I'm going to help the team get through today