Detroit Tigers option reliever Alex Lange to Triple-A Toledo to work on throwing strikes

The Detroit Tigers optioned right-handed reliever Alex Lange to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday after a meltdown, and disrespectful behavior, in the seventh inning of Wednesday's 8-3 loss against the Kansas City Royals.

Lange, who worked as the closer last season, gave up four runs to the Royals on three hits and two walks with one hit batter. The 28-year-old has struggled to throw strikes for his entire four-year MLB career, especially in the past two seasons.

To replace Lange, the Tigers recalled right-handed reliever Mason Englert from Triple-A Toledo.

"His role has changed a little bit," manager A.J. Hinch said, "and that was due to his struggles with the strike zone, and as it continued yesterday and he started falling further and further behind in the role category in a bullpen, we decided the best place for him to go work on that is in Toledo."

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Sending Lange to Triple-A Toledo takes place roughly 24 hours after a meeting between Hinch and Lange on the mound in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game at Kauffman Stadium.

Lange requested a new ball after giving up a critical two-run double, and when Lange requested the new ball, he showed his frustration by throwing the old ball at the Tigers' dugout in a reckless way.

It wasn't a soft toss.

Once the ball hit the net, Hinch climbed out of the dugout for the one-sided meeting on the mound. Hinch did almost all of the talking, scolding Lange for eight seconds before returning to the dugout without a pitching change.

After the game, Hinch declined to explain what happened on the mound, other than that he delivered a message.

"That's exactly what it was," Hinch said, "and it's going to stay between me and Alex."

The next day, Hinch went out of his way to explain that Thursday's demotion to Triple-A Toledo had nothing to do with Wednesday's incident.

"I'll answer the obvious question: After all the emotion yesterday, is this a reaction to something? The answer is no," Hinch said. "We've talked about Alex in recent weeks, or actually, for the entirety of his major-league career, about strike-throwing and execution."

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Lange has a 4.34 ERA with 17 walks and 21 strikeouts across 18⅔ innings in 21 relief appearances for the Tigers in the 2024 season. He improved his first-pitch strike rate from 53.7% in 2023 to 72.2% in 2024, which is a positive sign, but he continues to issue too many free passes.

Since June 4 of last season, Lange owns a 4.92 ERA with 51 walks (18% walk rate) and 66 strikeouts (23.3% strikeout rate) across 60⅓ innings in 64 games.

His ugly walk rate is the problem.

"It's not a lack of stuff, and it's not a lack of effort," Hinch said. "This guy puts in a ton of work trying to find that delivery, so it's a cross between mechanical and then somewhat approach, and we haven't found the right balance for consistency."

Lange will pitch Saturday for Triple-A Toledo, his first game as Mud Hen since 2021.

"It could be a short stint," Hinch said. "We've sketched out his next week to 10 days."

The Tigers acquired Lange, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2017 draft, from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Nick Castellanos at the 2019 trade deadline.

Mason Englert arrives

Englert earned his promotion to the Tigers.

The 24-year-old, selected by the Tigers from the Texas Rangers in the 2022 Rule 5 draft, posted a 2.35 ERA with nine walks and 34 strikeouts across 23 innings in 17 relief appearances for Triple-A Toledo.

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"It's close to a 40% strikeout rate," Hinch said. "He's doing a great job maximizing his stuff. In the shorter stints that he's pitched, the velo has ticked up and the stuff has come with it. We're seeing a little more glimpses of the good version of him. He's going to fit right in the middle of the bullpen."

Englert spent most of last season with the Tigers as their Rule 5 draft pick, logging a 5.46 ERA with 17 walks and 41 strikeouts across 56 innings in 31 games. He also appeared in nine games for Triple-A Toledo while on rehab assignment, logging a 7.15 ERA with four walks and 19 strikeouts in 11⅓ innings.

The next test for Englert generating strikeouts in the big leagues, which he didn't do last season.

"There's no defined role for him yet," Hinch said. "But that type of stuff and that type of swing and miss caught our attention a ton with the work that he's put in to bring his best stuff to the ballpark."

Rehab assignments begin

Triple-A Toledo shortstops Ryan Kreidler (right index finger fracture) and Eddys Leonard (left oblique strain) — both members of the Tigers' 40-man roster — began rehab assignments this week with Low-A Lakeland.

Leonard played his first game Tuesday; Kreidler played his first game Wednesday. Both players should return to the Mud Hens around the beginning of June, thus becoming available to be called up by the Tigers.

Kreidler, 26, has played 37 games in his MLB career, while Leonard, 23, is still awaiting his MLB debut.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers send P Alex Lange to minors to work on throwing strikes