Detroit Tigers: Is Alex Lange destined to be traded?

Detroit Tigers may be forced to move Alex Lange.

The Detroit Tigers' offense cannot give them any help whatsoever. The bats continue to fall short, and the arms continue to do what they need to. The Tigers pitchers keep executing and doing their thing, but if the season continues to the downward trend they have been on, it might mean trades are incoming.

For the Detroit Tigers, moving on from some of their bullpen arms and unloading around the trade deadline could become a reality. After all, the Tigers could very much so contend in the American League (AL) Central Division, given how poor it is.

But, it seems that they will have to pack it in with the way things continue to go. This could very much so mean that the team is going to be forced to move on from Alex Lange. This certainly would suck as he has really begun to find his way and do a good job working out of the bullpen.

Alongside Jason Foley, the Tigers have been able to rely on those two arms for success out of the bullpen. Lange has pitched in 35 games for the Tigers, being on the mound to finish 23 of them, with 12 saves as well.

Lange has pitched to a 3.89 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP. He's walked 22 opposing hitters and punched out 44 as well. He's accumulated 34.2 innings pitched and been one of the reliable arms from the Tigers to call upon.

It's been a good year for Lange, who has seemingly made some changes to his repertoire, really honing in on the fastball/curveball mix to find success. He's been able to improve the separation between his horizontal and vertical movement on the fastball, to avoid a dead zone fastball.

The sinker is in the same boat, improving the movement profile to avoid the dead zone and be a better offering for Lange to employ for success. On top of that, the curveball has been a dominant pitch as part of his arsenal. He's got a changeup, too, completing his 3-pitch mix.

For the Tigers, it may come to a point where they feel they can move him to another team to get some sort of a return. It reminds me of the situation the team was in when they moved Shane Greene at the trade deadline.

If the right team comes around with an offer the Tigers like, there's no reason not to pull the trigger. I'm very up on Lange and think he's been a great piece of the bullpen, but if the team folds into the abyss this season, there's no reason not to jump on any intriguing trade offers.

If the team plans to be active at the trade deadline, they have to be looking to shop Lange.