KANSAS CITY – The Royals signed right-hander Alex Lange to a one-year deal on Thursday night, bringing in the reliever with Kansas City ties to add to their bullpen. Langeâ€s deal is worth $900,000 in 2026 with $100,000 in performance bonuses, a source told MLB.com.
Lange, 30, will still be arbitration-eligible after the 2026 season and is under club control through 2028. He was designated for assignment by the Tigers on Nov. 12, going unclaimed on waivers and electing free agency.
On the injured list for most of the 2025 season because of right lat surgery, Lange made just one appearance for the Tigers before he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo in August. In 24 Triple-A appearances, Lange posted a 4.63 ERA.
Lange is not that far removed from being a key piece of Detroit’s bullpen. He notched 26 saves for the Tigers in ‘23 — with 32 save opportunities — and posted a 3.68 ERA across 66 innings that year, which included a 27.4% strikeout rate. Between 2022-23, he appeared in 138 games and posted a 3.55 ERA. Langeâ€s stuff — including a sinker and knuckle curveball — really plays in the ‘pen when heâ€s healthy, generating a lot of whiffs and weak contact, although he can get a bit wild at times with control.
His strikeout rate plummeted in 2024, though, and he was optioned to Triple-A before the significant lat injury ended his season.
Lange went to Leeâ€s Summit West High School in Leeâ€s Summit, Mo., just outside of Kansas City. He went to Louisiana State University and was a first-round pick by the Cubs in the 2017 Draft.
If Lange is healthy again and his stuff still plays like it did in ‘23, the Royals are getting a bounce-back candidate who could add depth to their ‘pen. Plus, a cheap deal with a player who has years of control is a low-risk, high-reward kind of gamble.
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