Yankees Rumors: Michael Lorenzen Eyed in 2024 MLB Free Agency Amid Gerrit Cole Injury

The New York Yankees could use starting pitching depth, and they are reportedly interested in Michael Lorenzen as a result.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday the Bronx Bombers "checked in on" the right-hander, who is a free agent.

This comes after Mark W. Sanchez and Heyman reported Wednesday that Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is expected to miss one-to-two months with an elbow injury that still needs further testing to determine the severity.

While initial scans did not show a tear in Cole's ulnar collateral ligament, he is still seeing a specialist in person.

"We're still in the gathering-of-information [phase] and then everyone's got to weigh in to determine what exactly we have," manager Aaron Boone said. "… It's not always clear on first look, second look."

New York currently has Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt in its rotation, but there are some durability issues among that group as well. Stroman, for example, pitched a grand total of 18 innings after July 15 for the Chicago Cubs last season.

Lorenzen wouldn't be expected to replace Cole's dominance, but he would at least be another option for a team with realistic World Series aspirations.

He split the 2023 campaign with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies and made the first All-Star Game of his career. However, he was much more effective in Detroit (3.58 ERA) than Philadelphia (5.51 ERA) and finished the season with a 4.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 153 innings.

Of note, he threw a no-hitter in his home debut for the Phillies last season.

The 32-year-old has played for the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels as well in his career and has been both a starter and a relief pitcher at times.

Lorenzen was primarily a starter last season and would likely be asked to initially fill that role with the Yankees if he did sign with the team.

New York begins the 2024 season on March 28 against the Houston Astros.