Tigers' slew of roster moves (including DFA) takes fans on emotional roller coaster

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday that the Tigers would be calling up lefty reliever Drew Sommers ahead of their series against the Royals. Sommers came over in an offseason trade with the Rays that sent Mason Englert to Tampa.

He has decent numbers in Triple-A, but the most intriguing part of his promotion was always going to be the corresponding moves; a 26-man and 40-man roster space were going to have to be cleared.

Petzold confirmed it all on Friday: the Tigers were promoting Sommers, optioning Alex Lange back to Triple-A, and designating disliked Quad-A player Ryan Kreidler for assignment.

Tigers select reliever Drew Sommers, option Alex Lange, and DFA Ryan Kreidler in whirlwind of roster moves

The Tigers hit fans with a lot of complicated emotions in one fell swoop. Sommers is another bullpen carousel arm who probably won't last very long in the majors but somehow fits into the weird strategy the Tigers have going on right now. Lange was just very emotional about his return to the major leagues for the first time in over a year only to be sent back down. And Kreidler might've been the most frustrating player on the 40-man roster.

Confusion, sympathy, gleefulness — Tigers fans got all of it in just one afternoon.

Kreidler opened the 2025 season on the 26-man roster thanks to a crop of injuries to Tigers outfielders. He was back in the minors by April 20 after batting .105 with a .295 OPS in 17 games. He has a career .138 average and .384 OPS, but the Tigers have inexplicably called him up time and time again for short stints during his four-year tenure because they valued his defense and versatility. That was never enough for fans.

There's still a chance Kreidler goes unclaimed on waivers and returns to the organization, at which point fans will have to take back their celebrations; but there may be a team out there in desperate need of a utility player that's willing to take a flier on him. For now, though, we can breathe a sigh of relief that he won't be back to haunt the lineup with a nearly 50% strikeout rate.

As unsettling as the Lange move might seem given emotional considerations, he'll probably be back in the majors this year if the Tigers' current bullpen strategy continues. At least Sommers' debut will be interesting to watch, and Kreidler is (temporarily) off of the Tigers roster.