Two veteran pitchers with the Colorado Rockies are gearing up for spring training as full-squad workouts began this week. Both are under contract 2026 with a club option for 2027; both are right-handed; and both will be competing in this year’s highly-anticipated edition of the World Baseball Classic.
Michael Lorenzen and Antonio Senzatela also provide a study in contrasts.
Michael Lorenzen
The Rockies brought in the 34-year-old Michael Lorenzen on a one-year, $8 million contract with a $9 million club option for 2027.
Lorenzen has become something of a journeyman after playing with the Cincinnati Reds for seven seasons to start his career. In the last four seasons, he has suited up for five different teams and made multiple post-season appearances. The Rockies will be his seventh team in 12 Major League seasons. He has posted generally good—if unremarkable—numbers throughout his career and has worked both from the rotation and the bullpen depending on team need.
He represents a significant change in standard operating procedure for the Rockies, who had not signed a free agent pitcher for more than $5 million since 2015.
“He ran toward this challenge,” said Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta.
“Michael actively wanted to pitch here. He’s done a lot of different things in his career – he was an outfielder, he’s been a reliever, he’s been a starting pitcher. I don’t think he’s afraid of anything.”
Colorado actively courted Lorenzen for his extensive arsenal of pitches—which could potentially reach as many as eight different offerings—with the hopes of finding an answer to the longstanding mystery of pitching at Coors Field.
Lorenzen returned their interest for the opportunity to learn and to be a “problem solver” for the Rockies, and for Lorenzen, that also means solving the problems of his teammates.
“That’s all I want to do. I want to improve myself, and then I want to help the guys around me improve,” Lorenzen told Purple Row in Scottsdale. “That’s through my experience and the wisdom that I’ve gained through years of failure and success, and being able to help guys out through that. That’s what I’m looking forward to — to be able to see guys grow around me and establish who they are in this league. That excites me.”
In the coming weeks, Lorenzen will depart Rockies camp and report for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. The veteran discussed looking forward to the fun environment, and to also swing a bat again—something he did regularly before Major League Baseball adopted the universal designated hitter.
“It’s fun. It’ll be great to just play in in that environment. Guys say it feels like the playoffs. So I’m excited about that, to be able to start for the team,” Lorenzen said. “One of the one of the deals was that I was going to be a two-way player in the WBC. That’s how I [ended up] playing for Team Italy.”
Playing for Team Italy also represents more opportunities to learn, especially with former Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino as one of his teammates.
“When I saw that he was pitching for Team Italy, even before, he was one of the first guys that came to mind of how he was successful here, how his sweeper played. I’ll pick his brain.”
Lorenzen will likely start the season following the World Baseball Classic as part of the Rockies’ starting rotation. Although he wants to help the Rockies conquer Coors Field, a bad season from him can be brushed off. He would be far from the first pitcher to come up short in that regard. A new landing spot wouldn’t be too hard to find.
Antonio Senzatela
31-year-old Antonio Senzatela is entering the 2026 season on the final year of a five-year, $50 million deal signed in 2021 after finishing four of his first five MLB seasons with a sub-5.00 ERA and establishing himself as a regular in the Rockies’ rotation. He is set to make $12 million this season with a $14 million club option for 2027.
The duration of the contract hasn’t gone as planned for Senzatela. During the first year of the deal, he tore his ACL mid-season. The injury caused him to miss the 2023 World Baseball Classic and the start of the regular season. When he returned to the active roster, he made just two starts before Tommy John surgery shut him down for the rest of the year and most of 2024—where he made just three starts at the end of the season. Things only got worse in 2025, where he struggled and eventually lost his spot in the rotation to be relegated to mop-up duty in the bullpen.
Senzatela has never had an extensive arsenal. After coming up through the Rockies farm system and his first few big league seasons, he really only had one pitch: his four-seam fastball. In 2025, Senzatela threw his fastball 1,316 times in 130 innings of work, just barely under 1,000 more times than he threw his secondary slider.
Now in the final year of his contract with the only team he has ever known, Senzatela is focused on his own growth and development this spring. Rather than be a “problem solver,” he has to find solutions to problems of his own.
Senzatela spent the off-season working with the new Rockies pitching coaches on new grips, pitches, getting in better shape, and trying to get away from his over-used fastball.
“I worked on all my pitches and my body and everything,” he told Purple Row. “I worked on the shape of my fastball, tried to make a new slider. I talked to everybody and it feels great. They have really good information to release to us, and I think that will be great for us.”
Senzatela will be departing Rockies camp to join his native Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic, an opportunity he missed in 2023 due to his ACL injury.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to wear that uniform, put the Venezuela on my chest. It’s gonna be huge for me. It’s gonna be huge for my family, for all my friends.
“It’s the country I was born in. It’s the country I pray for.”
Joining Senzatela on Team Venezuela is his fellow countryman, former teammate, and close friend Germán Márquez.
Márquez found himself in a similar situation to Senzatela last season, recovering from Tommy John surgery and struggling on the mound in the final year of his contract. This off-season he tested the waters of free agency for the first time and signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the San Diego Padres with a mutual option for 2027.
“It’s really, really cool,” Senzatela said on reuniting with Márquez. “We’re still in touch. We’re still talking, we’re still friends, and, man, it’s really nice to have him out there too, so we can keep talking and keep playing together.”
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said during the off-season that Senzatela would remain in the bullpen. However, Senzatela will now have an outside chance at earning his rotation spot back this spring thanks to the work he has put in over the offseason. Presently, however, his chances seem small with the Rockies having brought in two other veteran starters, Tomoyuki Sugano and José Quintana.
“I think I’m just coming in here to throw the ball the best I can and just let [the coaches] make the decision,” Senzatela said. “I’ll be happy in the starting rotation, but everything depends on them. I just want to keep going and have the ball.”
For Senzatela, the impact this spring and season may have is far more profound. Another bad season means the Rockies are even less likely to pick up his expensive 2027 option, and trading him at the deadline would be difficult. He would enter free agency for the first time in his career with his value at an all-time low.
Closing Thoughts
The circumstances this year for Antonio Senzatela and Michael Lorenzen are very different, as are the ways they view the upcoming season, their status entering spring training, and even the way they view the World Baseball Classic. One is working to help the Rockies find their own future while the other is fighting for their own baseball life and future.
However, when you pull the camera back and view the picture as a whole, the tales of Antonio Senzatela and Michael Lorenzen are representative of the new-look Colorado Rockies and of their upcoming season. Their interwoven stories are those of learning, development, open minds, and, ultimately, transition and change.
To Read (Rockpiles)
- Monday: Chase Dollander is in “learning mode” | Sam Bradfield
- Tuesday: Brett Pill takes a swing at the Rockies hitting problems | Renee Dechert
- Wednesday: 2026 spring training storylines for position players | Skyler Timmins
- Thursday: Charlie Condon welcomes the “challenge” of his first big league camp | Sam Bradfield
- Friday: Chuck Nazty’s impact and the importance of routines in spring training | Joelle Milholm
To Read (PuRPs)
To Read (Other)
- Staff Feature: Kyle Karros is ready to make the Rockies his own | Sam Bradfield
- Roster News: Kris Bryant addresses the media as he starts 2026 on the injured list | Evan Lang
- Purple Row After Dark: Paul DePodesta revisits “Moneyball” | Renee Dechert
- Weekly Pebble Report: Introducing the 2026 Prospect Non-Roster Invitees: Pitchers | Evan Lang
- Purple Row After Dark: Come learn how to steal bases with Doug Bernier | Renee Dechert
Weekend Discussion Topics
What are your early impressions after yesterday’s Cactus League Opener? Let us know in the comments!
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