Phillies' Michael Lorenzen: Could be moved to bullpen

Lorenzen could be moved to the bullpen with the Phillies expected to shift back to a five-man rotation, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

The plan has been for Philadelphia to pare down to five starters after Monday's doubleheader versus Atlanta, and that remains likely to happen even if it hasn't officially been decided yet. "Umm, I would think so," manager Rob Thomson said when asked about moving back to a five-man rotation. "But that's not 100 percent either. But I would think so. It all depends on how guys feel and how they come out of this. How Sanchy comes out of his start (Wednesday)." Lorenzen has plenty of past bullpen experience, of course, and part of the appeal in acquiring him at the deadline was knowing he could easily shift to relief, if needed. With Seranthony Dominguez struggling, the Phillies could use another right-handed setup man, a role Lorenzen could potentially fill. If Lorenzen does indeed move to the bullpen, it would be Cristopher Sanchez filling the fifth starter role.