Texas Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen works against Toronto Blue Jays during the the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

The playoff-contending Kansas City Royals acquired veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Texas Rangers on Monday in exchange for minor league left-hander Walter Pennington.

Lorenzen went 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers after signing late in spring training and making his season debut April 15. In his final start for Texas on Saturday, Lorenzen allowed four runs and five hits while recording only two outs at Toronto. He then pitched again Sunday, and gave up one run over four innings in relief.

The 32-year-old Lorenzen was a first-time All-Star last season with Detroit, and threw a no-hitter for Philadelphia after being traded. He signed a $4.5 million, one-year contract with the reigning World Series champion Rangers on March 23. Primarily a starter the past three seasons, Lorenzen is 45-44 with a 4.08 ERA over 361 career games (87 starts) with Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Texas, the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit.

Kansas City went into Monday, a day before MLB’s trade deadline, in the American League’s third wild card spot, one game ahead of Boston. Texas was third in the AL West, and six games behind the Royals in the wild-card race, with four teams between them.

The Royals had two relievers exit Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs after getting hurt. Right-hander John Schreiber tweaked his knee when covering first base after getting a grounder on the only pitch he threw. Right-hander Hunter Harvey, who they got in a trade with Washington two weeks ago, later left with a back spasm after throwing only seven of his 22 pitches for strikes.

Pennington made his big league debut July 5, when he struck out one of the two batters he faced at Colorado for the final two outs in an inning. The 26-year-old lefty is 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 37 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, with 79 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. The Rangers assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

Also Monday, the Cincinnati Reds picked up veteran first baseman Ty France and cash from Seattle in exchange for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo. The 30-year-old France, a 2022 AL All-Star, was designated for assignment last week by the Mariners after hitting .223 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 88 games.

Boston later acquired right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke in an exchange of former first-round draft picks. The Red Sox then optioned Priester to Triple-A Worcester.

Priester is 2-6 with a 5.04 ERA in 10 games for the Pirates, the last four of them in relief after six starts. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Yorke, the 17th pick in the 2020 draft, has hit a combined .278 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in 83 minor league games, with starts at second base, left field and designated hitter.