Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers Pitchers Mentioned as Potential Trade Targets
MLB.com reporter Jon Morosi mentioned Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito and Detroit Tigers pitcher Michael Lorenzen Friday morning on MLB Network as two players who could be on the move before the upcoming trade deadline.
Morosi brought up the Los Angeles Dodgers as a potential destination for both, as well as the Cincinnati Reds as a possible suitor for the latter.
Giolito was not named an All-Star this year, but the 28-year-old ace has a sub-3.60 ERA and sub-1.140 WHIP for the fourth time in five seasons. The White Sox are currently 38-54, with FanGraphs giving them a 2.1% chance of making the playoffs, meaning they could look to unload the impending free agent to a contender in the coming weeks.
"(Giolito), to me, is their main trade piece to potentially move," Morosi said. "Yes, we could see Tim Anderson moved as well, Lance Lynn, but Lucas Giolito is having one of the best seasons of his career."
Morosi also brought up that Giolito was born in Santa Monica and went to Harvard Westlake School (CA), making the Dodgers a logical fit to be his next team.
"I was told yesterday by multiple sources that the Dodgers are interested," Morosi said. "This trade situation, this particular scenario, makes almost too much sense."
Los Angeles has not been averse to bringing in short-term rentals in the recent past, trading for shortstop Manny Machado and pitcher Yu Darvish to aid their numerous playoff runs. The Dodgers are also dealing with injuries to Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard, Walker Buehler and Dustin May, meaning they may be willing to give up some of their league-leading eight top-100 prospects to bolster their rotation.
Morosi also mentioned the Dodgers as a potential suitor for Lorenzen, who spun a 3-6 record and 4.03 ERA in the first half of 2023 into an All-Star Game appearance on Tuesday.
Lorenzen is in his first year with the 39-50 Tigers, joining Detroit on a one-year, $8.5 million deal in the offseason. Lorenzen spent 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels, going 8-6 in 18 starts with a 4.24 ERA. Prior to that brief stint, Lorenzen spent seven seasons with the Reds as a hybrid starter-reliever.
From 2016 to 2019, Lorenzen went 15-11 with a 3.39 ERA as a regular late-inning option. Lorenzen's WHIP is actually lower in 2023 than it was during that stretch, though, which Morosi pointed to while detailing how valuable of an asset he could be.
"When you're getting someone at the deadline, you want to know a few things," Morosi said. "No. 1 – is he a great clubhouse guy? The answer there is yes, one of the great clubhouse guys in baseball."
Morosi floated the idea of a reunion with the Reds, while also insinuating that other teams would be interested in Lorenzen.
This is also the first trade deadline for Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, who Morosi said could be looking to flip veterans and expiring contracts for young talent.
The MLB trade deadline is set for Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. ET.
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