Rays Select Aaron Brooks, Designate Justyn-Henry Malloy
The Rays announced that they have selected Aaron Brooks‘ contract from Triple-A Durham. Outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Brooks, and right-hander Mason Englert was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move.
Brooks had been playing with Caliente de Durango of the Mexican League until the Rays signed him to a minors contract a couple of weeks ago. After two appearances (and an 8.31 ERA over 8 2/3 innings) in Durham, Brooks now finds himself back in the majors, and looking for his first MLB action since he tossed 26 2/3 innings over five appearances for the Athletics in 2024.
The 36-year-old Brooks made his big league debut back in 2014, and he has since appeared in parts of six big league seasons with the Royals, A’s, Cardinals, and Orioles, posting a 6.36 ERA over 206 2/3 career innings. Brooks also spent two seasons with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, in addition to his stint in Mexico and in the farm systems of several other MLB teams. In 2025, Brooks also started the season pitching with Durango before inking a minor league deal with the Athletics that didn’t result in any calls to the majors.
Englert tossed 46 pitches over 3 1/3 innings of relief in the Rays’ 2-0 loss to the Red Sox yesterday, so he’ll head to Triple-A to rest while Brooks brings a fresher arm to the Tampa bullpen. Brooks has mostly worked as a starter and is therefore capable of pitching multiple innings. It’s probably likely that this selection is just a cup of coffee for Brooks, and he’ll find himself in DFA limbo (Brooks is out of minor league options) before too long when the Rays need or want to make another roster move.
Malloy has now been designated twice in his career, and the first DFA back in December saw the Rays acquire the slugger in a trade after the Tigers removed him from their roster. Over 132 plate appearances in Durham, Malloy has hit only .128/.273/.266 with four home runs, in a stark dropoff from the very strong numbers Malloy posted with Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate. Even with his 2026 numbers factored in, Malloy has a career .270/.409/.456 slash line and 44 homers over 1341 PA against Triple-A pitching.
These numbers made Malloy an interesting prospect to watch in the Tigers’ system, but he hit a modest .209/.311/.346 over 357 PA in the majors during the 2024-25 seasons. Used as a corner outfielder and first baseman throughout his career, Malloy isn’t much of a defender and his best lineup fit might be as a DH, thus making him a tricky roster fit. Another team might be interested enough in Malloy’s Triple-A track record to take a flier on a waiver claim, but if not, Malloy will have to accept an outright assignment.
Rays Building Up Mason Englert, Griffin Jax As Rotation Options
The Rays have had an excellent first six weeks. Last night’s series-opening win over the Blue Jays was their fourth in a row and 10th in their last 11. They’re up to a 22-12 record that has them behind only the Yankees in the American League.
Tampa Bay’s rotation has played a key role in their success. Rays starters have a 3.16 earned run average that ranks third in MLB behind the Yankees’ and Dodgers’ rotations. Each of Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and offseason signees Nick Martinez and Steven Matz have been good to excellent.
The Rays ideally would have had Ryan Pepiot to complete their starting five. He’s instead going to lose the entire season to a hip injury that required surgery. That leaves the fifth spot up for grabs, and the Rays are building up a pair of relievers as rotation candidates.
Griffin Jax has opened his two most recent appearances. They weren’t true “starts,” as he was pulled by design in the third inning of each. Jax, who told MLB.com’s Adam Berry in late April that he and the team were discussing a potential rotation move, built up to 45 pitches across 2 2/3 frames on Saturday against the Giants. It was his highest pitch count in an appearance since 2022. In each of the last two outings, Jax has mixed in a cutter against left-handed batters. He’d tinkered with that pitch at the end of the 2025 season but hadn’t used it this year until he started to build up.
It’s not an entirely unfamiliar role. Jax was a starter throughout his minor league career and started 14 of 18 appearances as a rookie for the Twins in 2021. He struggled to a 6.37 ERA that season and moved fully to the bullpen in year two. Jax’s strikeout and ground-ball rates skyrocketed in shorter stints. He emerged as a high-leverage reliever whom the Twins flipped to Tampa Bay for former top pitching prospect Taj Bradley last summer.
Jax isn’t the only Rays pitcher building into a potential starting role. Mason Englert, who has come out of the bullpen for all but three of his 81 MLB appearances, is doing the same (link via Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times). Englert is currently on the 15-day injured list after feeling seemingly minor forearm soreness in mid-April. The Rays are sending him to Triple-A Durham on a rehab assignment this week and will use that time to build him up as a starter.
The Rays acquired Englert from the Tigers over the 2024-25 offseason. He hasn’t started regularly since he was in Double-A. That’s partially due to his status as a Rule 5 pick, as the Tigers needed to keep him on the MLB roster for his entire rookie season (2023) to secure his long-term rights. Englert had barely pitched above A-ball at the time, and it’s easier for teams to shield Rule 5 picks as low-leverage bullpen arms than it is to keep developing them as starters at the MLB level.
Englert has middling career numbers but is coming off a solid year in which he threw 44 2/3 innings of 3.83 ERA ball with slightly better than average strikeout and walk rates. He has a five-pitch mix headlined by a changeup that he’ll throw to batters of either handedness. Englert had relatively neutral platoon splits last season. He has very little experience turning a lineup over multiple times, but he has a deep enough arsenal that he should be able to compete with left-handed hitters.
Pitchers can spend up to 30 days on a rehab assignment. Englert also still has a minor league option if the Rays wanted to continue building him in Triple-A beyond that. He made a spot start earlier this year and threw 65 pitches, though, so it might only take a couple minor league starts before the Rays feel comfortable letting him throw at least 80-90 pitches in an MLB game.
None of that is to say that either Jax or Englert are guaranteed to hold rotation roles. The Rays have long valued flexibility on the pitching staff. They could use either pitcher as openers and/or as tandem starters or decide they’re better fits as 2-3 inning arms out of the bullpen. Jesse Scholtens and Joe Boyle (rehabbing from an elbow strain) have more starting experience at the MLB level. Tampa Bay has had some success with mid-career reliever to starter moves, however. Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs and Zack Littell were all reasonably well established middle relievers who built up as successful starters during previous seasons.
Rays Select Trevor Martin
The Rays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Martin. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow righty Mason Englert, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right forearm tightness. To open a 40-man spot, righty Michael Grove has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Martin, 25, was a third-round pick of the Rays in 2022. Tampa used him as a starter in his first professional seasons but converted him to a reliever last year. From the start of 2025 to the present, he has thrown 62 2/3 innings, split between Double-A and Triple-A, having allowed 2.73 earned runs per nine. His 9.5% walk rate is a bit high but his 25.2% strikeout rate is a few ticks above average. He averages about 95 miles per hour on his fastball, per Statcast, while also featuring a cutter, splitter, slider and changeup.
That stat line includes 9 1/3 scoreless innings to start this year. He has worked around a 14.6% walk rate in the early going but putting up zeroes has seemingly attracted the attention of the front office. Martin gets the call for the first time and will make his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Though Martin has done his part, the injury situation has played a role as well. Tampa lost Edwin Uceta and Steven Wilson to injuries in spring training. Since then, Garrett Cleavinger and now Englert have hit the IL as well. Manuel Rodríguez is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times relays that Englert and manager Kevin Cash don’t consider his injury to be serious, so perhaps he will be back relatively quickly. Martin has a full slate of options and could be shuffled between Triple-A and the majors as those guys get healthy or when fresh arms are needed.
As for Grove, he underwent shoulder surgery while with the Dodgers last year and missed the entire campaign. He was bumped off the roster at the end of the season and became a free agent. The Rays signed him last week and immediately placed him on the 15-day IL. His exact timeline isn’t clear but this transfer suggests the Rays don’t expect him to be back in the majors soon. He won’t be eligible for reinstatement until June.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Rays To Place Ryan Pepiot On Injured List; Carson Williams To Break Camp At Shortstop
The Rays will place right-hander Ryan Pepiot on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right hip, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s not expected to be out long. With Pepiot sidelined, fellow righty Joe Boyle will be brought back after previously being optioned to Triple-A Durham. Boyle will begin the year in the rotation. Topkin adds that top shortstop prospect Carson Williams, who’d previously been optioned, will now open the season as the Rays’ shortstop after Taylor Walls hit the injured list. That was the expected outcome, though the Rays were at least open to the idea of bringing in some outside help.
Pepiot, 28, has been a solid mid-rotation arm for Tampa Bay for the past two seasons after coming to the Rays in the trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to Los Angeles. He’s pitched a total of 297 2/3 innings with a 3.75 ERA, a 25.4% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate. Pepiot missed time in 2024 after taking a comebacker off his leg and later developing an infection in his right knee — the two weren’t related — but tossed a career-high 167 2/3 innings in a career-high 31 starts in 2025. Since all IL stints can be backdated up to three days (if the player hasn’t been in a game in those three days), Pepiot is only guaranteed to miss the first 12 days of the season.
Boyle, 26, is one of the game’s tallest and hardest-throwing pitchers. Listed at a massive 6’8″ and 250 pounds, he averaged 98.5 mph on his heater last season even while working primarily as a starter. He joined the Rays as part of the return in the trade sending Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics. In 52 innings last year, Boyle logged a 4.67 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate. He was dominant in the minors, yielding only a 1.88 ERA in 86 Triple-A frames. This spring, Boyle turned in a solid 3.72 ERA with a huge 34% strikeout rate but a troublesome 17% walk rate. Boyle will now start the second game of the Rays’ season, Topkin notes; righty Nick Martinez, who signed a one-year deal worth $13MM this winter, will be pushed back a couple games to a minor hamstring issue.
As for Williams, he’ll hope to take this unexpected opportunity and run with it. There’s little doubt about the former first-round pick’s defensive acumen or raw power. Scouts laud him as a plus defender at shortstop, and he belted 28 home runs in 557 plate appearances between Triple-A and a brief major league debut last year. He’s generally considered one of the sport’s top 100 prospects, due in no small part to the relatively high floor created by his glove and plus power.
The question regarding Williams is whether he’ll make enough contact to emerge as an above-average starter or be more of a low-end regular or even a power-and-defense utility option. He fanned in a massive 41.5% of his 106 major league plate appearances last year. That alone wouldn’t be terribly alarming for a small-sample set of plate appearances by a 22-year-old, but Williams also went down on strikes in 34% of his Triple-A plate appearances. He punched out at a 28.5% clip in Double-A in 2024 and a 31.4% clip across three levels in 2023.
Williams has taken a total of 2217 professional plate appearances since being drafted 28th overall in 2021 and has struck out in 32% of them. He’s highly unlikely to ever hit for a high average, but Williams has also walked in 11.4% of his professional plate appearances. If he can continue to walk in more than 10% of his plate appearances, hit for power and play defense, than a batting average in the .210 to .230 range won’t necessarily be a dealbreaker. With Walls down for several weeks due to an oblique strain, Williams will get the chance to solidify himself in manager Kevin Cash‘s infield.
Tampa Bay also finalized its bullpen, per Topkin. Right-hander Hunter Bigge was optioned to Triple-A, leaving lefty Ian Seymour and righties Mason Englert, Yoendrys Gómez, Kevin Kelly and Cole Sulser to claim the final five spots behind veterans Griffin Jax, Bryan Baker and Garrett Cleavinger. Righty Edwin Uceta is already known to be starting the season on the injured list due to shoulder troubles.
Meanwhile, righty Jake Woodford triggered the upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Tampa Bay. It’s not yet clear whether he’ll be added by another club or if the Rays will keep him as depth to keep on hand in Durham. Woodford had a strong spring (one run, 5-to-2 K/BB ratio, 45.5% grounder rate in 7 1/3 innings) and has pitched in each of the past six big league seasons. He has a 5.10 ERA inn 256 big league frames and has worked as both a starter and long reliever in his career.
Rays Place Mason Englert On 15-Day Injured List
The Rays announced that right-hander Mason Englert has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to an impingement in his throwing shoulder. The placement is retroactive to September 4. Righty Cole Sulser was called up from Triple-A to take Englert’s spot on the active roster.
After posting a 5.45 ERA in 77 2/3 innings with the Tigers in his first two Major League seasons, Englert has had a semi-breakout year since being dealt to the Rays in February. The righty has a 3.83 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, and a particularly solid 5.9% walk rate across 44 2/3 innings and 29 appearances for Tampa Bay. Fifteen of Englert’s 29 outings have been longer than one inning, adding to his value as a bullpen weapon.
Since impingements can vary greatly in severity, it isn’t yet known whether or not Englert’s season could be in jeopardy. A minimal 15-day absence would allow Englert to still contribute to Tampa’s final nine games of the regular season, which could be important given how the Rays’ recent hot streak has brought the club back into the wild card race.
Englert is the second Rays reliever to hit the 15-day IL in as many days, as fellow righty Brian Van Belle was also sidelined by elbow inflammation yesterday. Van Belle was slated to undergo an MRI yesterday to look for any structural damage.
Rays Select Connor Seabold, Transfer Ha-Seong Kim To 60-Day IL
The Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Connor Seabold from Triple-A Durham, as first reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. To open roster space, the Rays optioned righty Mason Englert to Durham and transferred infielder Ha-Seong Kim to the 60-day injured list. The team has since announced the moves.
Seabold, 29, is a former top prospect in the Phillies and Red Sox organizations who’s struggled to find his footing in the majors. He’s pitched in parts of three seasons between the Red Sox and Rockies, working to a combined 8.12 ERA in 108 2/3 innings. His 16.6% strikeout rate is well below average, though the right-hander carries a sharp 7.3% walk rate. Home runs have been his downfall; he’s surrendered a whopping 25 long balls in his career (2.07 homers per nine innings pitched).
That said, Seabold pitched well for the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization last year and has had decent start in Durham. He piled up 160 innings in the KBO last season and notched a 3.43 earned run average. Seabold punched out 23.8% of his opponents with the Lions and limited walks at a strong 6% clip. He’s pitched 27 2/3 innings with the Bulls this season (five starts, one relief appearance) and logged a 4.55 ERA, 22.4% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Seabold is sitting just 90.9 mph with his four-seamer — down from the 92.5 mph he averaged in his most recent MLB work — but is relying on the pitch less. He’s throwing more changeups and sliders than in the past and has notched an impressive 13.5% swinging-strike rate.
Kim’s move to the 60-day injured list comes as little surprise. There’d been some thought that in a best-case scenario, he could be recovered from last October’s shoulder surgery by mid-May. Late last month, the Rays suggested it’d be closer to mid-June or perhaps even July before Kim was ready. The 29-year-old hasn’t had a setback, but the Rays are taking his progression slowly and cautiously.
Kim signed with the Rays on a two-year, $29MM deal over the winter. That contract affords him the opportunity to opt out at season’s end. It’s impossible to tell which way he’ll go with regard to that decision until he gets back to the field and we see how he performs in the wake of a major shoulder procedure. Kim hit .250/.336/.385 with plus defense at three infield spots and plus baserunning across the past three years in San Diego. Once he’s healthy, he’s expected to slot in as the Rays’ primary shortstop, though his versatility opens up several paths to get him into the lineup, depending on the health and performance of the rest of Tampa Bay’s infield mix in the weeks ahead.
The move from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL is largely procedural. It does not reset the clock, so to speak, on Kim’s IL stint. He’s required to be on the injured list for 60 days dating back to his original placement on the 10-day IL. He’s already logged 47 days of IL time and wasn’t going to be ready for activation within the next 13 anyhow, so today’s shift doesn’t impact his expected return in any meaningful capacity.
Tigers Trade Mason Englert To Rays
The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired righty Mason Englert from the Tigers in exchange for minor league lefty Drew Sommers. Tampa Bay opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring southpaw Nate Lavender to the 60-day IL. Englert was designated for assignment in Detroit last week.
Englert, 25, was with the Tigers for the past two years. A Rule 5 pick from the Rangers, he stuck on the roster through the 2023 season. Once the Tigers had full control over his rights for 2024, he was shuttled between Triple-A and the majors. Over those two campaigns, he tossed 77 2/3 innings for Detroit, allowing 5.45 earned runs per nine. His 16.5% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip.
Those numbers aren’t mind-blowing, but Englert was better in the minors last year. He tossed 49 2/3 innings on the farm over 32 appearances with a 3.08 ERA, 33% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. Prior to his Rule 5 selection, he tossed 199 1/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.93 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate.
Englert is still fairly young and has a couple of options years remaining. The major league results haven’t been there yet but the minor league numbers seem to be intriguing enough that the Rays have brought him aboard. As a club that rotates pitchers through the roster fairly frequently, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Englert moves between Triple-A and the majors throughout the coming season.
Lavender, 25, was just taken in the most recent Rule 5 draft. He had Tommy John surgery in May and likely won’t be able to return until the second half. Today’s transfer officially rules him out of the first two months of the campaign.
Though the Tigers had to bump Englert off the roster, they are at least getting something in return. Sommers, 24, was an 11th-round selection of the Rays in 2022. In 2023, he tossed 43 Single-A innings with a 2.72 ERA, 34.7% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate. Last year, he got bumped up to High-A and tossed 54 innings with an ERA of 4.00, 27.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and massive 67.8% ground ball rate. He’s not considered a top prospect but will give the Tigers an intriguing lefty relief option to plug into their system.
Tigers Designate Mason Englert For Assignment
The Tigers have designated right-hander Mason Englert for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. He’s the corresponding move for Detroit’s re-signing of Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal, which the team agreed to earlier in the week and formally announced this morning.
Englert, 25, came to the Tigers as a Rule 5 pick out of the Rangers’ system back in 2022. He stuck on the big league roster all season in 2023 in a seldom-used long relief role. He appeared in only 31 of Detroit’s games that season and was roughed up for a 5.46 ERA. His results didn’t improve in 21 2/3 big league innings last year. The righty yielded a 5.40 ERA with very similar strikeout, walk, ground-ball and home run rates.
Though Englert has been hit hard in his 77 2/3 big league frames, he was excellent in the minors last year. The Tigers moved him to more of a short relief role, and in 41 2/3 Triple-A innings, Englert turned in a very strong 3.08 ERA with a massive 35.3% strikeout rate, an 8.2% walk rate and a 49.5% ground-ball rate. At a time when power arms are particularly en vogue, Englert’s 92.7 mph average on his four-seamer isn’t going to garner massive fanfare, but the results in the minors stand out nevertheless.
Add in that Englert still has two minor league option years remaining, and it seems like there’s a good chance another club’s interest could be piqued on a minor trade — or at the very least on a waiver claim. Englert’s blend of strikeouts, command and grounders in Triple-A last year is a general recipe for success. That he’s the roster casualty for Flaherty’s return speaks to the level in which the Tigers’ overall 40-man roster has deepened. It’s true that he lacks big league success, but his recent Triple-A work is far more interesting than that of most players who find themselves on the wrong end of a DFA. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris seems to agree; asked during today’s media availability about the decision to designate Englert, he replied:
“I would love to keep him. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to. … I think Mason has really grown up as a pitcher since we drafted him in the Rule 5. He’s able to move his (pitch) shapes all around the zone. He’s very confident on the mound, and he is comfortable in any situation, so if we can find a way to keep him, I would love to keep him. I just don’t know that we’re going to be able to, because I imagine there’ll be interest around the league on him.”
The Tigers will have five days to work out a trade of Englert. After that, he’ll need to be placed on waivers (a 48-hour process) in order for his DFA to be resolved within the allotted window of one week.
Javier Báez To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery
The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, including the selection of right-hander Ty Madden, which was reported yesterday. The club also recalled right-hander Mason Englert from Triple-A Toledo. To open active roster spots for those two, the club placed right-hander Will Vest on the paternity list and optioned left-hander Bryan Sammons to Toledo. To open a 40-man spot for Madden, infielder Javier Báez was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Manager A.J. Hinch informed reports that Báez will undergo right hip surgery and is done for the year. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the news on X.
Báez was placed on the 10-day injured list a few days ago, with what the Tigers described as lumbar spine and hip inflammation. It’s possible the issue has been bothering him for a while, as he also missed close to a month earlier this year due to lumbar spine inflammation. He previously told Petzold that he has dealt with lower back discomfort throughout his time with the Tigers.
Perhaps the back/hip issues provide some kind of explanation for his precipitous drop-off in terms of performance since coming to Detroit. Through the end of 2021, he had a career batting line of .264/.307/.477 for a wRC+ of 104. When combined with his strong shortstop defense and baserunning, he had produced 21.6 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs.
The Tigers signed him to a six-year, $140MM deal going into 2022 but he has hit just .221/.262/.347 over the life of that deal for a wRC+ of 69. That includes an atrocious .184/.221/.294 line and 41 wRC+ this year. Among players with at least 250 plate appearances this season, only Brandon Drury has a lower wRC+. Báez has also had less impressive numbers on defense in recent years and his contract is considered one of the worst in the sport at the moment.
Ideally, the surgery will address the issue and allow Báez to put this miserable stretch behind him, but there’s no guarantee that will come to pass. He’s now 31 years old, turning 32 in the offseason. That means the rest of the contract will see him trying to battle against the standard effects of time, in addition to overcoming this back/hip problem.
Even if he doesn’t get all the way back to his pre-Tigers form, there’s a lot of room for improvement over his current results, which the Tigers would happily take. They are pivoting to a young crop of position players, giving lots of playing time to infielders Colt Keith, Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney. The Tigers likely view that group as a more significant part of their next competitive window than Báez, but even if he could become a solid utility/bench player, that would likely be viewed as a nice consolation relative to how rough things have gone over the past three seasons. His deal will still have $73MM and three years remaining after the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Tigers Option Alex Lange
The Tigers announced today that right-hander Alex Lange has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. Fellow right-hander Mason Englert has been recalled from Toledo to take Lange’s spot on the roster for now.
The move highlights what a struggle the season has been for Lange so far this year. In 21 appearances on the season, he has a 4.34 earned run average. That’s obviously not a disastrous figure, but Lange has that mark despite not allowing a home run yet this year. He has struck out 23.3% of opponents but given out walks at a massive 18.9% rate. The lack of home runs has helped him strand baserunners at an unsustainable 54.3% rate.
It’s been a steep drop for a guy who was Detroit’s closer not too long ago. In 2022, he made 71 appearances with a 3.41 ERA, earning 21 holds in the process. His 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 30.3% of batter’s faced and got grounders on 55.6% of balls in play.
In 2023, the results were somewhat similar. He racked up 26 saves and six holds, posting a 3.68 ERA in 67 appearances, but with his peripherals moving the wrong way. His strikeout rate dropped a few ticks to 27.4%, his walk rate jumped to 15.6% and his grounder rate fell to 50.6%. As mentioned above, his strikeout and walk rates have continued trending in a concerning direction this year, with his ground ball rate also falling to 45.8%.
The growing control problems have clearly created some concern among Detroit’s decision makers and bumped Lange down the bullpen pecking order. Jason Foley has taken over the closer’s role with ten saves on the year, compared to two for Lange. Each of Andrew Chafin, Shelby Miller, Alex Faedo, Will Vest, Joey Wentz and Tyler Holton have picked up at least a couple of holds this season, while Lange has just one.
On top of being moved down the chart, he’s been bumped off the active roster entirely. He’ll head to Toledo to try to get a better handle on his stuff. “We decided the best place for him to go work on (strike-throwing) is in Toledo,” said manager A.J. Hinch, as relayed by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X. “Could be a short stint. We’ve sketched out his next week to 10 days.”
Getting Lange back on track would obviously be good for the Tigers, with the club currently 23-26 and in fourth place in the American League Central. Despite Lange’s struggles, their relief unit hasn’t been the problem overall. They have a collective 3.58 ERA that’s good enough for ninth in the league, but moving up even further would obviously be a welcome development.
For Lange personally, this isn’t likely to have a huge impact on him financially, assuming Hinch is correct in stating that this will be a short stint. Lange came into the season with his service time count at two years and 112 days. Since a new year rolls over at 172 days, Lange needs 60 here in 2024 to get over the three-year mark. He’s already accrued 56 days to this point, meaning he should easily get over the line as long as he’s recalled at some point, even if it’s for just a week or so.
If Lange gets hurt on optional assignment or the Tigers decide to keep him down due to continued struggles, that would change things. Coming up shy of three years of service would eliminate any chance Lange has of getting to free agency after 2027. It would also prevent him from qualifying for arbitration if he’s under three years. Since he’s just under the three-year line, he would normally be in line for Super Two status, but only players with 86 days of service in the immediately preceding season can qualify for Super Two. Lange is shy of that right now but it would be a moot point if he is recalled and gets over the three-year line at any point, since he would automatically qualify for arbitration at that point.