Astros Sign CJ Alexander To Minor League Deal
The Astros have signed infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The PSI Sports Management client has been assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land but could be invited to big league camp in spring training.
Alexander, 29, has a limited major league track record. He has 25 plate appearances over 10 games with four hits, all singles. He has not drawn a walk and has been struck out 11 times. He has had better showings in the minors, particularly in 2024, when he slashed .302/.361/.559 in Triple-A for a 130 wRC+. But his 2025 was a bit of a swoon, as he slashed .254/.335/.448 in the minors for a 91 wRC+.
Even if his offensive contributions are muted, Alexander can provide defensive versatility, as he has experience at all four corner spots. The Royals designated Alexander late in 2024, at which point he was claimed by the Athletics. He lasted on that roster until June of 2025, before going to the Yankees and Dodgers via subsequent waiver claims. The Dodgers passed him through waivers in July and he became a free agent at season’s end.
Alexander hits from the left side, which is something the Astros are looking for, with Yordan Alvarez the only lefty locked into an Opening Day roster spot. Alexander won’t solve that problem but there’s nothing wrong with a bit more depth.
The Houston infield is fairly crowded, with Carlos Correa at third, Christian Walker at first and Isaac Paredes backing both of them up. Unless a spring trade comes together, Alexander’s best path to playing time is the outfield corners. Houston projects to have Jake Meyers in center while Cam Smith, Joey Loperfido, Zach Cole, Zach Dezenzo and others battle for playing time in the corners. If Alexander can earn his way onto the roster at some point, he still has a minor league option remaining.
Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Dodgers Outright CJ Alexander
Infielder CJ Alexander passed through waivers unclaimed and was assigned outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.
The 28-year-old Alexander has bounced from the A’s, to the Yankees, to the Dodgers via waivers in the past five weeks. Los Angeles will succeed at getting him through waivers, which will allow the Dodgers to retain him as a depth option without committing a 40-man roster spot. Alexander has not been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of MLB service, so he doesn’t have the opportunity to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Though Alexander has been with three clubs this year, he’s only seen big league time with the A’s, going 3-for-17 with a trio of singles. Alexander has four hits in 25 big league plate appearances overall, dating back to last year’s cup of coffee with the Royals. He’s struggled offensively in brief Triple-A looks with the Dodgers and Yankees this season but hit well during his time with the Athletics’ top affiliate. Overall, he’s hitting .236/.333/.426 in 249 Triple-A plate appearances this season and is a career .259/.328/.482 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns.
Alexander has primarily played the infield corners in his professional career, though he does have about 300 innings of corner outfield experience under his belt as well. He’ll stick with the Dodgers as a lefty-swinging depth option who could get another look if injuries arise as the season wears on.
Dodgers Designate CJ Alexander For Assignment
The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder James Outman has been recalled to the big league club and they have also selected the contract of right-hander Julian Fernández. In corresponding active roster moves, left-hander Justin Wrobleski has been optioned while infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernández has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Fernandez, infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander has been designated for assignment. The Fernández move was reported earlier today.
There isn’t a lot of information about the injury to Hernández. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, manager Dave Roberts says the issue has been around for about a month. It’s Hernández’s non-throwing elbow, which is presumably why he was able to play through it, but the club has decided to give him a breather. With the All-Star break coming up, he might not actually miss many games if it’s a minor issue. Roberts does believe Hernández could be back in there shortly after the break, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
Outman gives the club some extra outfield coverage but the position player mix is a bit thin at the moment, particularly on the infield. Max Muncy is on the injured list and will miss several weeks. Tommy Edman is not in the lineup tonight, seemingly due to a right pinky toe issue, per David Vassegh of SportsNet LA. Outfielder Teoscar Hernández was getting scans on his left foot last night after fouling a ball off himself last night, per Vassegh, and isn’t in the lineup tonight.
In tonight’s lineup, the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at first, Hyeseong Kim at second, Mookie Betts at shortstop and Miguel Rojas at third. The bench consists of backup catcher Dalton Rushing, outfielder Esteury Ruiz, and then the banged-up Teoscar and Edman. If Edman is unable to play tonight, those four infielders are apparently locked in. If another injury were to pop up, the club would have to get creative and try an outfielder on the dirt. Roberts hopes Edman and Hernández will be available off the bench tonight, per Harris, though that may be hollow optimism.
Alexander was just claimed off waivers a few days ago, seemingly to give the club some extra infield depth, but he hasn’t been recalled today. Instead, he’s been bumped off the 40-man roster and into DFA limbo, likely to return to the waiver wire in the coming days.
He has a small amount of big league experience with the Royals and Athletics, having produced a .160/.160/.160 line in 25 plate appearances. He had a really good performance in the minors last year but hasn’t carried it over into 2025. He slashed .302/.361/.559 for a 130 wRC+ on the farm in 2024, but this year’s minor league line is .236/.335/.429 for a wRC+ of 83.
He is capable of playing any of the four corner spots and can still be optioned to the minors. Perhaps there will be interest from clubs who think he’s capable of getting back to last year’s performance. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, the Dodgers could retain him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images
Dodgers Claim CJ Alexander, Designate Steward Berroa For Assignment
The Dodgers have claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees, according to an announcement from the latter club. The Yanks designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot for Alexander, the Dodgers have designated outfielder Steward Berroa for assignment, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Alexander, 28, has limited big league experience. Between the Royals and Athletics, he has appeared in 10 big league games and stepped to the plate 25 times with a .160/.160/.160 line, produced with four singles and no walks.
His minor league track record is naturally greater in both quantity and quality. Last year, he slashed .302/.361/.559 in 411 Triple-A plate appearances, split between the Royals’ and Athletics’ systems. That production translated to a wRC+ of 130.
This year, his offense has dipped a bit. He started the year with Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .252/.348/.509 in 42 games, but that actually led to a wRC+ of 98 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. The A’s put him on waivers at the beginning of June and the Yankees claimed him. In 13 games for the RailRiders, he had a .196/.302/.196 line, which pushed him to the waiver wire yet again.
The Dodgers presumably feel there’s a path to getting him back closer to his 2024 form, or perhaps just somewhere in between last year’s production and this year’s. He has a bit of defensive versatility, capable of playing the four corner spots.
Third baseman Max Muncy appeared to injure himself last night and may end up on the injured list. That could push Hyeseong Kim into a more regular role. The Dodgers came into today with four position players on optional assignment: catcher Hunter Feduccia and outfielders Esteury Ruiz, James Outman and Berroa. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported earlier today that Ruiz would be joining the team, presumably to take Muncy’s roster spot. Grabbing Alexander gives the Dodgers an optionable infielder who could be called upon if their infield group takes another hit.
Berroa, 26, was acquired from the Blue Jays in a cash deal in May. He has since put up a huge .330/.424/.433 slash line in 27 Triple-A games, though aided by a .403 batting average on balls in play in that sample, stealing 11 bases along the way.
Dating back to the start of 2023, he has a combined .268/.367/.401 line and 110 wRC+ in 955 minor league plate appearances. He has also stolen 101 bases in that time while playing all three outfield spots. He made his major league debut with the Jays last year, hitting .189/.333/.216 in 45 plate appearances.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Dodgers could take as long as five days to explore trade talks. The last time Berroa was in DFA limbo, the Dodgers gave up some cash to skip the waiver line. He has been in good form since then, so it seems like he has a decent chance of getting scooped up in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images
Yankees Select Geoff Hartlieb, Place Fernando Cruz On 15-Day IL
9:13pm: Cruz is suffering from what manager Aaron Boone described as a “high-grade” oblique strain and will be out for a significant amount of time, as relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Mark Leiter Jr. appear likely to be the club’s go-to leverage arms while Cruz is out.
3:14pm: The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Geoff Hartlieb and placed fellow righty Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Infielder CJ Alexander was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Hartlieb.
Hartlieb, 31, is a journeyman righty who’ll be suiting up for his fifth big league team in seven years. The former Pirates draftee broke into the majors with Pittsburgh in 2019 and has since suited up for the Mets, Rockies and Marlins. He’s tallied 79 1/3 innings in the majors and has a rough 7.37 ERA to show for it, but he’s been very sharp for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton so far this season.
In 35 innings with the RailRiders, Hartlieb touts a 3.34 earned run average. He’s punched out 26.2% of his opponents against a tidy 6.9% walk rate. The Yankees have Hartlieb throwing sliders at far and away the loftiest rate of his career. More than 53% of Hartlieb’s pitches with Scranton this season have been sliders — a notable increase over his previous career-high 45% back in 2020 and a massive increase over last year’s 37.3% clip with the Rockies’ Triple-A club. Hartlieb’s strikeout rate is up considerably, and his 17.2% swinging-strike rate in Triple-A is terrific. He’s not likely to carry quite such a gaudy mark over to the majors, though if he did, it’d rank tenth among the 310 pitchers (starters and relievers alike) who’ve pitched at least 30 innings this season.
Cruz, acquired from the Reds in an offseason swap sending catcher Jose Trevino to Cincinnati, is a tough loss for Aaron Boone‘s bullpen. The 35-year-old has been brilliant, pitching to an even 3.00 ERA with a mammoth 41.2% strikeout rate against a 10.7% walk rate. Cruz is “only” averaging 93.8 mph on his heater, but he’s throwing his devastating splitter more in 2025 and overwhelming opponents with the pitch. Hitters are batting just .136 and slugging only .222 against Cruz’s splitter. He’s ended 86 plate appearances with the pitch, and 48 of them (55.8%) have resulted in a strikeout.
Alexander, 28, was claimed off waivers from the A’s earlier this month. He hasn’t appeared in a big league game with the Yankees and hit just .196/.302/.196 in 53 Triple-A plate appearances. That’s a far cry from the .252/.348/.509 slash he turned in with the Athletics’ Triple-A club in Las Vegas prior to his first DFA of the season. Alexander has four hits in 25 total MLB plate appearances between the Royals and A’s. He’s a lifetime .260/.329/.486 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons.
The Yankees will either trade Alexander or place him on waivers within the next five days. Waivers take 48 hours, so his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week.
Yankees Claim CJ Alexander
The Yankees and Athletics have each announced that infielder CJ Alexander is heading to New York on a waiver claim. The A’s designated Alexander for assignment three days ago.
Alexander was optioned to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’ll act as a left-handed hitting depth option at multiple positions. Most of Alexander’s pro experience has come at third base, which is notable given how the hot corner has often been considered a weak link in New York’s otherwise sterling lineup. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has the position locked down for now since DJ LeMahieu is being deployed at second base, and it is possible the infield situation might resolve itself if LeMahieu can regain any of his old form at the plate.
Oswald Peraza and Pablo Reyes are ahead of Alexander on the big league depth chart in terms of backup infielders, so Alexander may have a tough time cracking the Yankees’ roster. The 28-year-old Alexander can also play first base and both corner outfield positions, and he is a left-handed hitter (Peraza, Reyes, and LeMahieu all swing from the right side).
A 20th-round pick for the Braves in the 2018 draft, Alexander made it to the Show with the Royals in 2024, and got into another handful of games with the A’s this year. Alexander’s brief time in the majors has resulted in only four hits in 25 plate appearances (for a .320 OPS), but he has hit well at Triple-A, with a .264/.330/.502 slash line and 42 home runs to show for 908 career PA at the top minor league level.
Athletics Designate CJ Alexander For Assignment, Reinstate Michael Kelly
The Athletics announced a series of roster moves today, as relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Right-hander Michael Kelly has been reinstated from the restricted list and left-hander T.J. McFarland has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding active moves, the A’s have optioned right-handers Elvis Alvarado and Justin Sterner. To open a 40-man spot, infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander has been designated for assignment.
Kelly was one of four players suspended by Major League Baseball for one year after a league investigation revealed that the quartet had placed small-scale bets on Major League Baseball games while playing in the minor leagues back in 2020-22. Kelly’s bets came in October of 2021, when he was pitching at the Triple-A level in the Astros’ system. He made only ten bets for a total of $99.92, with three of those bets coming on games involving the Astros’ big league club during the postseason.
The one-year suspensions have now been served and all four players are eligible for reinstatement today. The Diamondbacks have already reinstated left-hander Andrew Saalfrank. Padres lefty Jay Groome and Phillies infielder José Rodríguez should be reinstated today as well. None of the four bet more than $749 in total, and none were on the 40-man roster at the time their bets were placed.
That’s the key distinction for that quartet receiving one-year bans as opposed to former Padres/Pirates utilityman Tucupita Marcano, who received a lifetime ban (announced in conjunction with these four suspensions). Marcano wagered more than $150K on 387 bets involving MLB games while he was on a big league roster — including 25 bets on Pirates games while he was on Pittsburgh’s major league injured list (rehabbing a season-ending ACL tear).
Major League Baseball’s rules regarding gambling stipulate that “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.” Players, umpires, club officials and league officials who place bets of “any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform” are subject to permanent bans. Further details on the investigation and its findings were provided in a league-issued press release last year at the time of these suspensions.
Prior to his suspension, Kelly had managed to log 52 big league innings for the Phillies, Guardians and A’s. Most of that came just before his absence, as he logged 31 1/3 innings with Oakland last year, allowing 2.59 earned runs per nine. His 17.2% strikeout rate last year wasn’t especially strong but he kept his walks down to a 7.8% level. He’ll now get a chance to build upon all those numbers after having served his suspension.
While on the restricted list, Kelly did not count against the club’s 40-man roster tally. Now that he’s back, Alexander has been nudged off. Alexander will head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take as many as five days to explore trade interest.
Alexander was claimed off waivers from the Royals in September. Between those two clubs, he has a .160/.160/.160 batting line in a tiny sample of 25 big league plate appearances. His minor league work has naturally been greater in both quantity and quality. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .287/.357/.544 batting line and 121 wRC+ in 595 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He has a bit of defensive versatility, with experience at all four corner spots. He can still be optioned to the minors for the rest of this campaign and one additional season. He could perhaps appeal to clubs who have roster space and want some extra position player depth.
Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images
Athletics Designate Seth Brown For Assignment, Option JJ Bleday
The Athletics announced a huge batch of roster moves today. They selected the contracts of catcher Willie MacIver and infielder Logan Davidson. They also recalled left-hander Jacob Lopez, infielder CJ Alexander and outfielder Denzel Clarke. Infielder Gio Urshela was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, opening one spot. They opened three more by optioning right-hander Carlos Durán, catcher Jhonny Pereda and outfielder JJ Bleday to Triple-A Las Vegas. They opened a fifth active roster spot by designating infielder/outfielder Seth Brown for assignment. That also opened one 40-man spot for MacIver/Davidson. A second was opened by transferring infielder Zack Gelof to the 60-day IL.
The Clarke, Urshela and Davidson moves had been previously reported. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Clarke promotion last night and hinted that more moves could be coming, with the A’s looking to shake things up and snap a nine-game losing streak. That has certainly come to pass.
Brown, 32, has been a productive player for the A’s before but has fallen off. He hit 45 home runs between the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, slashing .224/.294/.457 for a 111 wRC+. However, he has a line of .224/.286/.385 and a wRC+ of 90 since then. That includes a .192/.311/.288 line and 79 wRC+ this year.
He was outrighted off the roster last summer but earned his way back to the big leagues. He played well enough in the second half that the A’s tendered him an arbitration contract for 2025 and the two sides avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.7MM salary.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Brown is not quite in a position to both elect free agency and keep that money coming to him. Players with at least three years of big league service have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, but players with less than five years have to forfeit their remaining salary in order to do so. Brown came into this year with four years and 96 days of service time, putting him 76 days shy of the five-year mark. 57 days have passed in the 2025 season so far. Based on his performance, he probably won’t get claimed off waivers. More likely, he will clear and accept an outright assignment, allowing the A’s to keep him around as non-roster depth.
Bleday, 27, seemed to be having a breakout last year. The former top prospect hit 20 home runs and slashed .243/.324/.437 on the year for a 120 wRC+. Defensively, he was miscast as a center fielder but the offensive performance was certainly encouraging. Unfortunately, he is slashing .204/.291/.365 for an 86 wRC+ so far this year.
It’s possible there’s some luck in there. His batting average on balls in play was .279 last year but is down to .231 here in 2025. His barrel rate is down but his average exit velocity and hard hit rate are actually higher than last year. His strikeout rate has ticked up a bit but he’s also been walking more.
Regardless, the A’s are seemingly going to try Clarke in center for a while. Bleday can try to get into a groove in the Pacific Coast League and perhaps return to the big leagues after a bit of a refresher. He came into this season with his service count at 2.055. If he stays down the rest of the year, he won’t get to the three-year mark in 2025, delaying his path to free agency. But if he’s recalled in the not-too-distant future, he’ll still have a shot to get there.
Amid the rest of the shuffle, MacIver gets called to the big leagues for the first time. The A’s have Shea Langeliers as their primary catcher but Pereda has been backing him up lately. With today’s swap, it seems MacIver will get a shot at holding that backup job.
The 28-year-old MacIver was drafted by the Rockies way back in 2018, in the ninth round, and has been grinding in the minors since then. He reached free agency after 2024 and signed a minor league deal with the A’s coming into 2025. He has put up a monster .389/.469/.548 line in 147 Triple-A plate appearances this year. His .480 BABIP is surely not sustainable but his 12.2% walk rate and 18.4% strikeout rate are both good figures.
As for Gelof, he began the season on the 10-day IL due to hamate surgery. He started a rehab assignment at the end of April but that lasted just three games before he was pulled off due to a stress reaction in his ribs. He hasn’t started a new rehab assignment yet. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so is technically eligible for reinstatement a few days from now. However, that doesn’t seem likely, as he’ll surely need a few weeks of minor league games at some point to get into game shape.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Athletics Claim CJ Alexander
The Athletics announced that they have claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Royals and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas. Alexander was listed as released on the MLB.com transactions logs but it appears he was still on waivers. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Alexander, 28, was drafted by Atlanta back in 2018 but was one of three players who came to the Royals in the July 2022 trade that sent a Competitive Balance draft pick the other way. The Royals selected him to their roster this summer and he has a small sample of major league experience. He has been sent to the plate eight times with three strikeouts and one hit, a single.
The A’s are surely more interested in his larger sample of work in the minors. That includes 350 Triple-A plate appearances this year with 16 home runs and a line of .303/.352/.554. That production leads to a 130 wRC+, indicating that Alexander was 30% above league average even in the heightened offensive environment in the International League this year.
That production is likely propped up a bit by a .355 batting average on balls in play that will be hard for him to maintain. But even with a bit of regression, his bat could perhaps still be an asset and he also provides some defensive versatility as he is capable of playing all four corner positions. He will still have two option years remaining after 2024, so the A’s don’t need to add him to the active roster any time soon. He also has just a few days of major league service time, meaning he has plenty of cheap club control remaining.
The club effectively had a free roster spot due to the status of Ruiz. He landed on the 10-day IL back in May due to a strained left wrist, so he’s already been out well beyond 60 days already. He is eligible to be reinstated at any point, but that won’t be happening. He began a rehab assignment in July but was shut down due to continued soreness in the wrist. Manager Mark Kotsay said last week that Ruiz won’t be able to return this year, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on X.
Ruiz will stay on the 60-day injured list for the remainder of the season, collecting major league pay and service time. There’s no IL from five days after the World Series until the start of Spring Training, so Ruiz will need to retake a roster spot in the offseason.