Tigers announce they have acquired right-handed pitcher Dugan Darnell Waiver of immunity for pirates. The Buccaneers designated him for assignment last week. To clear a roster spot for Darnell, Tigers designated right-hander Alex Lange for distribution.
Langer, 30, is not far away from being Detroit’s closer. In 2023, he made 26 saves for the club. He pitched 66 innings that year, allowing 3.68 runs per nine innings. He struck out 27.4 percent of batters and hit ground balls in 50.6 percent of pitches, although his 15.6 percent walk rate was concerning.
The bottom fell out of there. His 2024 is off to a bad start. In 18 2/3 innings, he had a 4.34 ERA. It’s not a terrible jump, but there are signs of something worse behind the scenes. His ground ball rate dropped to 45.8% and his strikeout rate dropped to 23.3%. His walk rate, already terrible, has climbed to 18.9%. The Tigers optioned him to the minors that May. A few weeks later, he was injured and required back surgery. He missed the final months of the season and entered 2025 on the 60-day injured list. He did not resume duty from Illinois until August.
A few days after leaving Illinois, he was optioned to the minors, where he spent the rest of the year. This burned his third option, meaning he would have no choice in the future. He’s also eligible for arbitration, and MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects his salary next year will be $900,000. He likely won’t be tendered next week, but the Tigers made that statement by taking him off the roster today.
Langer will be stuck on DFA for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so it could take the Bengals five days to explore trade interest. Considering Langer has been injured for much of the last two years, they probably won’t find much. His performance in Triple-A this year is similar to his past self, but not quite. In 2025, he pitched 23 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.63 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate, 54.7% ground ball rate, and 14.3% walk rate.
If he clears waivers, he will be eligible for free agency. He doesn’t cost much and still has three years of club control, so maybe some rebuilding club could take a shot at him and hope to bounce back.
Darnell, 28, still has a limited record. In 2025, he made nine appearances and 11 2/3 innings with the Rockies. In September, he underwent surgery to address a torn labrum in his left hip. The timetable given at the time was eight months. The Buccaneers claimed him off waivers in October, but now he’s lost to the Tigers.
With such a shallow major league record, the Pirates and Tigers may be more interested in his work on the farm. He logged 255 1/3 innings in the minor leagues and had a 3.74 ERA. That includes 53 2/3 Triple-A innings this year in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, with a 3.19 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. He could give the Tigers some extra bullpen depth whenever he returns from hip surgery.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
