Tigers option supposed key reliever after disastrous month of May

Alex Lange finished the month of April with a 0.84 ERA. The month of May couldn't have been more of an opposite for the former Detroit Tigers closer, and now he finds himself back in the minor leagues as a result.

Thursday afternoon the Tigers announced they were optioning Lange to Triple-A Toledo a day after he gave up four runs to the Royals on three hits and two walks.

Right-handed reliever Mason Englert will join the Tigers' roster in exchange.

Alex Lange needs to throw more strikes for the Tigers

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters that he was going to get ahead of speculation (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.)

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

Through Wednesday's game, Lange allowed 10 runs (eight earned) in eight innings pitched in May. He walked nine while striking out seven. He's exiting the month with a 4.34 ERA

This year Lange has thrown about 43% of pitches in the zone and opposing batters have made contact 87% of the time. They're both chasing and whiffing at career lows for Lange. His walk percentage (19%) is in the worst 1% of MLB as is his hard hit percentage, per Baseball Savant.

It's quite a fall for Lange, who had 26 saves and just six blown saves (81% success) last year to go along with six holds, though he could have been a more dominating presence than he was.

Lange saw his role change quite a bit this season, where he was surpassed by multiple other close-and-late relievers. That should have been a positive for Detroit, having all the more options in the bullpen. Instead with Lange's struggles, it has limited the team even more and even forced the high-index relievers into games they otherwise may not have been needed in.

If the Tigers are going to get out of the hole they dug for themselves in May, they need Lange to start throwing more strikes and get back on track.

Englert has had a successful year so far with Triple-A Toledo, posting a 2.35 ERA in 17 appearances. He has 34 strikeouts and nine walks in 23 innings.