DETROIT — Longtime Detroit Tigers reliever Alex Lange, who was designated for assignment last week and then released on Tuesday, has quickly found a new home.
In fact, he’s going home.
Lange, 30, agreed to a major-league contract with the Kansas City Royals, the team announced Thursday. Lange grew up and went to high school in suburban Kansas City before playing college ball at LSU.
The Tigers originally acquired Lange from the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 Nick Castellanos trade. Then a starter, he transitioned into a relief role and made his big-league debut with the Tigers in 2021. He became a bullpen fixture in 2022 and seized the closer role in 2023, maintaining nasty swing-and-miss stuff but with a slightly elevated walk rate.
The control issues worsened in 2024. Lange issued 17 walks in 18 2/3 innings, along with two hit batters and four wild pitches. The breaking point came on May 22 in Kansas City, when he allowed four runs on three hits, two walks, and a hit batter in a disastrous seventh inning. Shortly after being demoted to Triple-A Toledo, he suffered an injury that he described as feeling the tendon snap off the bone.
Lange worked his way back, was reinstated from the injured list in August and struck out 32 in 25 1/3 innings in the minor leagues in 2025, but he pitched only one inning in Detroit. Even as the Tigers faced bullpen questions down the stretch, he stayed in Triple-A, an indication his future in the organization was likely nearing an end.
The Tigers are expected to focus heavily on the bullpen this winter. Only three relievers — right-hander Will Vest and lefties Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter — appear to have safe spots in the 2026 bullpen.
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