Tigers Swap Bullpen Pieces, Releasing Veteran Righty to Make Waiver Claim Move

The Detroit Tigers have a lot of work to do when it comes to their bullpen, and they will start early to repair it this offseason with a quick addition.

Jul 30, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; The hat and glove of Detroit Tigers right fielder Robbie Grossman (8) sits on the ledge of the dugout during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have gone through another difficult postseason exit following a truly promising campaign, and now, they have a lot of work to do to both retain their current talent and also improve upon their biggest needs.

One of the more notable issues throughout 2025 was their bullpen reliability, specifically in getting strikeouts, and that should be a big focus during the upcoming offseason.

A few smaller-scale moves have been occurring around the MLB prior to the winter meetings starting up in a few weeks, and with that, the Tigers have involved themselves in the transaction log. Recently, they made an acquisition to their bullpen in an attempt to provide themselves with some depth before some of the big moves start going through.

In this, though, they ended up choosing to release one of their veteran bullpen arms, who, despite a few difficult seasons, has really been productive in his playing time with Detroit. Unfortunately, 2025 did not treat him well, and now things will shuffle once again as the relief pitching group looks to improve over time and find some production in 2026.

Which Two Roster Moves Did the Tigers Make in Their Bullpen?

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The roster move made for Detroit early in the offseason was claiming reliever Dugan Darnell off waivers, and in return, moving on from Alex Lange per the team's MLB transactions log. Lange has been pitching at the MLB level for the Tigers for five seasons now, and has been a bit hit or miss over the years, but has been a pretty consistent strikeout thrower.

Darnell is an intriguing pickup for the Tigers, a former Colorado Rockies bullpen piece. He has shown some promising production both in the minor leagues and at the MLB level. He ended up being claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates following the season, but was designated for assignment shortly after, allowing Detroit to claim him.

In nine appearances in the Major Leagues last year, he had a 3.86 ERA, 1.457 WHIP, five strikeouts, seven walks, one home run allowed and a 1-0 record. While his strikeout production is certainly not there yet in the MLB, it has been throughout the minor leagues, where he had 63 strikeouts to 19 walks in Triple-A last season.

Overall, this is a move that will take some time to truly see how it pans out for the Tigers, as Darnell needs more playing time to really settle in at the MLB level. For now, though, it seems like a reasonable swap for the franchise to make.