The Tigers, although teetering on the edge of contention, are likely to be sellers at the trade deadline. Two often-mentioned possibilities make sense.
Their lone All Star, right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen, is on a one-year contract with a relatively low salary ($8.5 million prorated) considering how well he is pitching. Both scouting and analytics departments should be intrigued by the athletic, hard-throwing Lorenzen, who has developed consistent command of multiple pitches in 2023.
Eduardo Rodriguez is another obvious candidate. He is a proven commodity, a solid veteran lefty who has shown he can hang with a World Series-winning club, the Red Sox. He has an opt-out in his contract.
But also often mentioned in the same discussion is high-leverage reliever Alex Lange.
Why?
Lange isn't arbitration eligible until 2025, and is under the Tigers' control until 2028.
He was a reclamation project, a former Friday starter at LSU and first-round pick of the Cubs, who looked every bit a bust after a horrendous 2019 when, at 23, he labored at three different levels of the minors. He was essentially considered a bag of balls when the Tigers acquired him in a "Hey, we've got to get something for him" deadline deal for then-pending free agent Nick Castellanos.
Through his hard work, and with the help of the Tigers' player development system, Lange has transformed from a busted-out minor league starter into a quality high-leverage reliever. At 27, he is in his prime.
There are always possible outliers in these situations. Tigers' general manager Scott Harris should obviously listen to offers. One might be too good to bypass.
But given an enormous upswing in volume of power arms, relievers don't command as much value as is often suggested. Lange has more value to the Tigers than he does as a trade piece.
At minimum, putting him in the same trade deadline pool as rental starters Rodriguez and Lorenzen is nonsensical.
Organizations don't win by trading talent, but acquiring it. Alex Lange is an example how the Tigers can ultimately be successful. Trading him, at least for prospects, would be kicking the can down the same road to nowhere.
