The Tigers announced that right-hander Alex Lange has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Bailey Horn has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.
It’s been quite an odyssey for Lange in recent years. He took over the closer’s role in Detroit in 2023, recording 26 saves that year. He tossed 66 innings with a 3.68 earned run average. His 15.6% walk rate was awful but he struck out 27.4% of batters faced while getting grounders on 50.6% of balls in play.
His results backed up early in 2024. He started the season with a 4.34 ERA through 18 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate, 18.9% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate all moved in the wrong direction relative to the year before.
The Tigers optioned him to the minors in late May. He injured himself a few weeks later, requiring lat surgery in mid-June. The Tigers didn’t announce an expected recovery timeline but it has taken Lange 14 months to get back to the majors. They put him on the major league 60-day IL when they signed John Brebbia back in February.
Now Lange finally gets a chance to get things back on track after all those challenges. For what it’s worth, his recent rehab numbers have been similar to his previous performance. He tossed 13 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.73 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate, 13% walk rate and 62.1% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
The Harris bullpen roulette wheel continues to spin. Will he hit on a winner soon?
Have you not been watching Finnegan since they got him?
And Melton
And Morton
Hope Alex can be effective and contribute. Before he was injured he was either very effective or terrible.
His power curve was the most unhittable pitch in 2023 among all pitchers as measured by swings and misses. He also featured a 96 mph fastball and a changeup. Lange has the talent when he hits the zone. Welcome back, Alex!
Cue up some old Floyd, Alex Lange he’s back again ! Sure wish we could get a Keith like deal to McGonigle so he could come up Aug 31 for this years playoffs. That’s probably pie in the sky, but sure wish it could happen as a spark. Still they say there is some other’s that could come up before the first, but if not, there is always next season. GO TIGERS !
That could be the hard throwing impact arm they didn’t trade for at the deadline if he has sorted some things out. If that gamble pays off then between adding him and Finngean they got their two BP arms, plus anything the get from Montero or Sewald is gravy.
Once their best bullpen arm. Reliever performance is so up and down.
Finnegan and Morton deals were “solid”……the rest of the deadline filth like Paddack, Montero, Heuer, injured Sewald leave a lot to be desired. Also, Lange has not been useful or relevant since 2023.
It’s kind of hard to be useful or relevant when you miss 15 months do to injury/surgery.
Hopefully you are smart enough to realize he did pitch a part of 2024 and was terrible. The only thing that saved him last season is that almost half of his runs were unearned. 18 2/3 IP 16 runs and 17 BB’s is not useful. He also pouted his way off the mound in his last MLB game in May 2024. Try again.
@ eat Try again what? Lange didn’t pitch well in 2024 which is exactly why he was sent down. Then he got hurt, so when you’re not pitching for over a year, you can’t be useful or relevant as you put it.
On top of that you have no clue on how he will pitch in 2025. If he can pitch like he did in 2023 there is no doubt he can help this team.
He was not hurt when he was awful the first 2 months of 2024. You decided to make a comment about him having surgery. All I said was he has not been useful or relevant since 2023. My initial comment is backed up by his God awful stats from 2024. Thanks!
No I responded to your original comment about him not being useful or relevant since 2023. You ignored the fact he got hurt afterward and hasn’t pitched since. You cherry picked the stats you wanted to use to make your point seem more relevant than it actually was. I noticed you left out how Lange didn’t surrender any long balls in 2024 or that the tigers were not a good team the first half of 2024 as to the unearned runs Lange had. Those unearned runs come from somewhere.
BTW it’s “I hope you’re” not “I hope you are smart” . The tigers once sent Max Freaking Scherzer down to get him right just like Lange. Scherzer has been in MLB since being recalled by the tigers. So yeah, you have no clue how Lange will pitch in 2025.
He has not been useful or relevant since 2023. How tf are you still debating this. So walking a guy an inning is good? Giving up nearly a run an inning is good? Clueless. I’m not ignoring he got hurt. HE WAS AWFUL LAST YEAR WHEN HEALTHY. Also, should we reward him for just giving up walk after walk but not giving up a homerun? His career walk rate is nearly 5 1/2 per 9. Tell me when should any fan feel confident about pitching a guy in a high leverage situation when he walks that many guys. Oh but he doesn’t give up homeruns LOL. Like his crap command is just going to vanish overnight.
Also “you’re” and “you are” are the same things. You must be related to the guy to defend how brutal he’s been even when healthy.
Whatever man. You do you.
nah, just keep complaining about my opinion based on factual 2024 numbers he posted pre injury.
Dude. I never said he was lights out in 2024. I never once said I thought walks were a good thing. You’re just making this stuff up and claiming that is what I think. Have a good day.
let me know how he does in Toledo, homie
First off I’m not your homie. Nor would I ever be. Second, I really don’t give a damn they sent Lange to Toledo today. Third, my original comment, that you were so clearly offended by, can be said about any baseball player who hasn’t played in 15 months. That was my only point.
I never once blamed his injury as to why he pitched the way he did in 2024- you just made that part up. In fact I acknowledged early on he was sent down in 2024 because he wasn’t pitching well if you’d actually read it what was said.
Someone needs their pampers changed, sheesh. Enjoy watching him on the Mud Hens!
Let me break this down for you since you seem illiterate. My initial comment was he has not been relevant since 2023….meaning the innings he pitched in 2024 at the ML Level were trash. WE AGREE ON THAT!! Yet you made it a point to just keep telling me how he was out for 15 months when that had NO BEARING on his early 2024 stats. You are a waste of time, be gone!
Good to see Lange making it back to the Show…beleive Hinch/Fetter will ease him back into it by using him in low leverage situations for the next few weeks and hopefully he’ll be back to form and a force down the stretch
Do they have 3 or 4 bats coming to?
lol he owns you. He’s your master and you’re his monkey.
He came in in the 9th tonight with a 10 run lead against the Astros. Loaded the bases, with 2 hits and a walk, but got out of it without giving up a run.
Nice velocity. Some swing and miss. And some miss the strike zone stuff too. Sigh.
Replaced Bailey Horn. The back of the Tiger BP is, shall we say, variable.
For his first MLB outing in 15 months, I’ll take it. There was clearly some rust. Hopefully he’ll grow from here.
Welcome back.