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Scott Alexander

Scott Alexander Elects Free Agency

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The Giants announced Friday that left-handed reliever Scott Alexander has cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A. He’ll be the corresponding 40-man and 26-man roster move for the previously reported promotion of fellow lefty Matt Gage to the Giants’ big league bullpen.

Alexander, 36, has pitched 17 2/3 innings between the Rockies and Giants this season and been hit hard, serving up a 6.11 ERA. He’s yielded a dozen runs on 23 hits — five of them homers — and nine walks with eight strikeouts. Alexander has also hit a batter. His Triple-A work hasn’t been any better, as he’s been tagged for six runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Rough as the 2025 season has been, it was just last year that Alexander turned in 38 2/3 frames of 2.56 ERA ball for the A’s. His 19.4% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both worse than average, but the well-traveled lefty’s 60% ground-ball rate was one of the top marks in the sport by any pitcher. Mass quantities of grounders are nothing new for Alexander, who has a career 66.4% ground-ball rate. Among pitchers with at least 300 innings since Alexander’s MLB debut in 2015, only the retired Zack Britton has a higher ground-ball rate.

Once again a free agent, Alexander can now explore opportunities with all 30 teams. He’s a nice depth option for any club looking to add some left-handed depth to its bullpen mix. In 327 career big league innings (349 total appearances), Alexander has a 3.36 ERA, 17.6% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 66.4% grounder rate, 0.69 HR/9, 13 saves and 65 holds.

Giants’ Erik Miller Diagnosed With UCL Sprain

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July 7: Miller tells Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle that he was diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain. He’ll miss at least five weeks, but there’s no indication that surgery is yet a possibility.

July 5: The Giants announced a pair of roster moves this evening after announcing the return of Matt Chapman earlier in the day. The club placed left-hander Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list due to a left elbow sprain and selected the contract of left-hander Scott Alexander to replace him on the active roster. A 40-man roster spot was already open after the club’s DFA of Sergio Alcantara earlier today.

The loss of Miller is a significant one, as he’s served as San Francisco’s primary late-inning lefty this season. The southpaw has been utterly dominant this season with a sterling 1.50 ERA across 36 appearances, though his 17.2% strikeout rate and 3.92 FIP both suggest there’s plenty of good luck baked into that run prevention number. A look under the hood reveals Miller has managed to strand 89.4% of the baserunners he’s allowed this year, has floated a 15.6% walk rate that would raise eyebrows even with a higher strikeout rate, and that he’s managed to go all season without allowing a home run. None of that feels especially sustainable, and the cracks have begun to show in recent weeks as he’s actually walked more batters than he’s struck out over his last 18 appearances.

Despite all those red flags, the run prevention Miller has provided has been undeniable and will be nearly impossible to replace. Tyler Rogers, Randy Rodriguez, and Camilo Doval have formed a solid late-inning nucleus, but now the Giants will turn to Joey Lucchesi and Alexander as their lefty arms in the bullpen. Lucchesi has a 4.50 ERA in six innings of work, though his six strikeouts in that time are somewhat encouraging. As for Alexander, he pitched to a 6.06 ERA with a 7.01 FIP for the Rockies earlier this year but is now back in the Bay Area after spending two seasons with the Giants and one season in Oakland between 2022 and ’24.

He posted a 3.28 ERA and a 3.43 FIP in 117 appearances during that three-year stretch, and if he can unlock anything close to that production for the Giants this year he’ll be a worthy replacement for Miller in the bullpen who might even end up with more sustainable peripherals. Alexander’s production is carried primarily by high ground ball rates. His career rate entering this year stood at 67.4% and it’s never fallen below 60% in a season. That has changed this year, however, as he’s generated grounders on just 53.4% of batted balls. The Giants are surely hoping that pitching half of his games at Coors Field had an impact on his ability to keep the ball on the ground and that he’ll be able to rediscover his worm-burning ways now that he’s part of their relief corps again.

Giants, Scott Alexander Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran left-handed reliever Scott Alexander, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The Apex Baseball client will head to Triple-A for the time being.

Alexander, 36 next month, signed a one-year deal with the Rockies over the winter. That pact, which paid him a guaranteed $2MM, didn’t work out for either party. In 16 1/3 innings as a Rockie, Alexander was shredded for a 6.06 earned run average. He allowed 11 runs on 20 hits — four of them homers — and seven walks. He’s never been a big strikeout arm, but Alexander punched out only six of 72 opponents (8.3%) against a 9.7% walk rate. Colorado designated him for assignment on May 23 and released him a few days later.

Ugly as that short run in Denver was, Alexander has a nice track record in the majors overall. He carries a career 3.34 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate in 325 2/3 innings — all accompanied by a gargantuan 66.6% ground-ball rate. As recently as last season, the southpaw tossed 38 2/3 innings of 2.56 ERA ball for the A’s.

Giants fans should be plenty familiar with Alexander, who pitched in San Francisco in 2022-23. He tallied 65 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA, a 15.1% strikeout rate, a 4.4% walk rate and a 63.8% grounder rate in his two seasons calling Oracle Park home.

At present, Erik Miller is the only left-hander in manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen. The only other southpaws on the 40-man roster at all are starters Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, both of whom are currently in the Giants’ excellent rotation. Alexander will join Joey Lucchesi as an experienced non-roster lefty in the Giants’ bullpen with their Triple-A club in Sacramento.

Rockies Release Scott Alexander

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Left-hander Scott Alexander has been released by the Rockies, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by Colorado last week. He’ll head to the open market once he’s cleared released waivers, unless he has already.

This was the expected outcome once Alexander was DFA’d. He joined the Rockies on a $2MM deal this offseason. He went on to post a 6.06 earned run average over his first 19 appearances with the club. Given that performance, no club would want to take on his salary. If he had cleared outright waivers, he would have had the right to elect free agency and keep that money, as a veteran with well beyond five years of major league service time.

The Rockies are skipping that formality and sending him more directly to the open market, which could potentially lead to him garnering more interest. The Rockies remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Any other club could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Rockies pay.

While Alexander is currently sitting on a rough ERA for this year, it’s worth considering the Coors Field effect. He has a 7.20 ERA in Denver this year but a more reasonable 4.26 ERA on the road. Those are small samples of 10 innings and 6 1/3 innings respectively but Alexander also has a 48.7% ground ball rate in Denver compared to 63.2% elsewhere.

Getting those grounders has been the key to his major league career, which spans almost a decade at this point. He debuted back in 2015 and has since posted a 66.6% ground ball rate in 325 2/3 innings. Zack Britton is the only pitcher in baseball with a better grounder rate in that time, among pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched. That has helped Alexander post a 3.34 ERA in his big league time. Considering that track record and the low price tag, it’s possible the southpaw field some calls in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Rockies Designate Scott Alexander For Assignment

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The Rockies announced that right-hander Tanner Gordon has been recalled to start tonight’s game, a move necessitated by Chase Dollander landing on the injured list yesterday. In a corresponding move for Gordon, left-hander Scott Alexander has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man count drops from 39 to 38.

Alexander, 35, was signed by the Rockies in the offseason. Colorado gave him $2MM on a one-year deal to serve as a veteran arm in a bullpen that was generally lacking in experience. That hasn’t worked out. His 53.4% ground ball rate this year is above league average but below his usual pace. He’s never been a huge strikeout rate guy but his 8.3% clip is low even by his personal standards. That has led to a 6.06 earned run average in 16 1/3 innings.

That performance has bumped him off the roster. Given his numbers and his salary, no club is likely to claim him off waivers. As a veteran, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping his salary in place. He will likely be on the open market soon, either by being released by the Rockies or by electing free agency.

If that comes to pass, the Rockies would be on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Any other club could sign him at that point and would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Rockies pay.

It’s possible some clubs would be interested in that arrangement, despite this year’s numbers. From 2015 through 2024, Alexander tossed 309 1/3 big league innings with a 3.20 ERA. His 18% strikeout rate was a few ticks shy of par but he got grounders at a massive 67.4% rate. Among pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched in that decade, only Zack Britton kept the ball on the ground at a higher clip.

The numbers in 2025 haven’t been great but it wouldn’t be a surprise if some team thought Alexander could bounce back, especially by getting away from Coors Field. He has a 7.20 ERA at home this year compared to a 4.26 ERA on the road. His 48.7% grounder rate at Coors is far lighter than his 63.2% rate in away games this season.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

Rockies Sign Scott Alexander, Designate Aaron Schunk

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1:32pm: Alexander gets $2MM, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

11:24am: The Rockies have signed left-handed reliever Scott Alexander to a one-year, major league contract, per Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball. Infielder Aaron Schunk was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Alexander is represented by Apex Baseball.

Alexander, 35, is coming off a strong but injury-shortened season with the A’s. He missed time due to a ribcage injury and tendinitis in his shoulder, but when Alexander was healthy he logged 38 2/3 innings of 2.56 ERA ball.

Alexander fanned a below-average 19.4% of opponents against a higher-than-average 9.4% walk rate, but his mammoth 60% ground-ball rate was among the highest in MLB and helped to offset some of his more pedestrian rate stats in other areas. Of the 474 pitchers who tossed at least 30 big league innings last year, only 11 turned in a ground-ball rate of 60% or higher. Alexander was tied with Giants righty Camilo Doval at exactly 60%, sitting tenth in the game.

The 2024 season was the tenth of Alexander’s career. A sixth-round pick by the Royals back in 2010, he’s tossed 309 1/3 major league innings and combined for a 3.20 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and a colossal 67.4% ground-ball rate. That ability to pile up grounders at a higher rate than just about any pitcher in MLB surely appealed to the Rockies, whose Coors Field home is notorious for its homer-friendly nature and sprawling, expansive outfield. With quality defenders all around the infield — Ryan McMahon, Ezequiel Tovar, Thairo Estrada, Michael Toglia — the Rox are an even more natural fit.

While Alexander has never worked as a closer — 10 career saves notwithstanding — he’s no stranger to high-leverage spots. He picked up 10 holds for the A’s in 2024, has a career-high of 21 holds (Dodgers, 2018) and has amassed 62 holds in his major league career. The Rox have plenty of interesting young arms in their bullpen competition (e.g. Seth Halvorsen, Angel Chivilli, Luis Peralta, Jeff Criswell), but Alexander will provide a seasoned veteran who can comfortably pitch in late-inning spots as needed.

As things stand, there’s no set closer in Colorado. Veterans Tyler Kinley and Justin Lawrence are the most experienced options. Both have closed games for the Rox in the past, but both pitched to ERAs north of 6.00 in 2024. Those struggles could open the door for a power-armed young reliever like Halvorsen or Victor Vodnik to win the job.

Alexander’s arrival on the Rockies’ roster will come at the expense of the 27-year-old Schunk, who made his big league debut in 2024. Schunk, the Rockies’ second-round pick in 2019, appeared in 39 games with the Rox but batted only .234/.265/.330 in 98 trips to the plate. He’s slashed .291/.346/.464 in 807 turns at the plate in Triple-A over the past two seasons. It’s a solid-looking line, though when weighted for the enormously hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League (and, specifically, the Rockies’ Triple-A home in Albuquerque), it’s actually a bit shy of league-average production.

Schunk played at second base, third base and shortstop in the majors last year and has minor league experience at all three spots. He’s spent the vast majority of his time at the hot corner in pro ball, logging more than 2800 innings at third base between the minors and last year’s 89 big league frames. He’s been regarded as a sound defender at third base in scouting reports from Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com in the past.

Between his solid minor league output at the plate, that defensive versatility and a full slate of minor league option years remaining, Schunk could hold appeal to a club with less infield certainty than the Rockies currently possess with McMahon, Tovar, Estrada and veteran utilityman Kyle Farmer. The Rockies will have five days to trade him. A player’s DFA window is one week long, but since waivers are a 48-hour process, Schunk would need to be traded by next Monday or else placed on outright waivers.

Athletics Select J.T. Ginn

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The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander J.T. Ginn. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Scott Alexander, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff tendonitis, retroactive to August 18. The A’s already had a vacant 40-man roster spot and don’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Ginn, 25, gets added to a major league roster for the first time, though he’s been a known name in baseball circles for a while. The Dodgers selected him with their first-round pick back in 2018, 30th overall, but Ginn didn’t sign and instead went to Mississippi State. For not signing Ginn, the Dodgers received a compensation pick, the 31st overall selection in the 2019 draft. They used that pick to draft Michael Busch.

While with Mississippi State, Ginn underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. Though he was slated for a lengthy rehab, the Mets nonetheless took him in the second round of that year’s draft, the 52nd overall pick.

He was able to make his professional debut in 2021, making his first official appearance in June of that year. He eventually made 18 starts in 2021 between Single-A and High-A. He tossed 92 innings with a 3.03 earned run average, 21.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Mets then sent him to the A’s, alongside Adam Oller, in the March 2022 trade that sent Chris Bassitt to Queens. But Ginn has had plenty of challenges since switching organizations. In 2022, he missed time with a forearm injury and posted a 6.11 ERA in his 35 1/3 Double-A innings on the year. Those forearm issues lingered into 2023, when he tossed 22 1/3 innings at Double-A with an ERA of 8.06.

Here in 2024, the good news is that he’s been healthy enough to pitch. He’s thrown 102 2/3 innings over his 21 outings between Double-A and Triple-A. However, the results haven’t been outstanding. He has a combined 5.26 ERA on the year, with his 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate both fairly pedestrian. He’s getting grounders on more than half the balls put in play against him but has also allowed 13 home runs on the year.

Perhaps some rust is to be expected after he’s hit so many speed bumps in his professional career and the prospecting community seems to still have some faith in his future. Baseball America currently lists him as the #25 prospect in the organization, saying that he could carve out a role as a “back-of-the-rotation sinkerballer” if his health permits. He has the #17 spot in the system at FanGraphs, with that outlet also suggesting Ginn could be a viable back-end starter.

Perhaps Ginn will get his first taste of the major leagues as a reliever, or perhaps a few starts will be on the table. Veteran Ross Stripling was recently moved to a long relief role so that the club could give starts to younger pitchers like JP Sears, Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido and Joe Boyle. Perhaps Ginn can push his way into that group or simply give the club an extra bullpen arm for the stretch run.

Ginn was going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and was likely going to get a roster spot soon anyway, so Alexander’s IL placement will get him on there a bit ahead of schedule. He won’t be able to get a full year of service this year, so the A’s will be able to control him for at least six seasons beyond this one. He also has a full slate of options and the amount of time he spends in the minors in the next few years could impact his timeline to arbitration and free agency.

Lucas Erceg “Drawing Significant Interest”

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Hard-throwing Athletics righty reliever Lucas Erceg is “drawing significant interest,” according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  Erceg, 29, is controllable for five seasons beyond this one.

Erceg, a second round pick by the Brewers back in 2016, had served as a two-way player in college but didn’t get serious about pitching until 2021.  This year, his second for the A’s, Erceg has cut his formerly worrisome walk rate down to 8.3%.  That’s paired with a healthy 26.3 K% and a 98.8 average fastball velocity that ranks 13th in MLB.  Erceg also has a strong 50.5% groundball rate and excellent barrel and hard-hit rates, so the ingredients are in place for an ERA lower than his current 3.68 mark.

Erceg spent a couple weeks on the IL for forearm tightness earlier this season.  He’s shown no ill effects with his fastball velocity, but did struggle for a couple of weeks upon his return.  Erceg’s past three outings have been scoreless, however, including a save Friday in Los Angeles.

Erceg’s bullpen-mate Mason Miller, one of the few relievers in baseball who throws harder, fractured his left pinkie a few days ago.  That moves Erceg up in the pecking order for A’s manager Mark Kotsay, along with fellow trade candidate Scott Alexander.  According to Rosenthal, the A’s have also “exchanged names” with teams on Alexander, a veteran lefty who bears little resemblance to Erceg as a pitcher.

Michael Kopech, who sits just above Erceg on the velocity rankings, landed with the Dodgers in a three-team deal Monday afternoon.  ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel connected the Phillies to both relievers earlier today, though he was unsure how the Phillies’ acquisition of Carlos Estevez affects their interest. Erceg, who will not be arbitration-eligible 2026 at the earliest, could be of particular appeal to teams with competitive balance tax concerns.

Athletics Select Kyle McCann

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The Athletics announced a series of Opening Day roster moves today. They selected the contract of catcher Kyle McCann and placed left-hander Sean Newcomb and infielder Aledmys Diaz on the 60-day injured list. Those two IL placements open spots for McCann and for lefty T.J. McFarland, who was acquired from the Dodgers earlier this week. Pitchers Scott Alexander, Luis Medina and Freddy Tarnok were placed on the 15-day IL while outfielder Miguel Andújar was placed on the 10-day IL.

McCann, 26, cracks a big league roster for the first time. A fourth-round pick from the 2019 draft, he was considered one of the club’s top 30 prospects in 2020 and 2021 but fell off after he struggled mightily in first taste of Double-A. He played 93 games there in 2021 but hit just .166/.283/.275, striking out in 37.1% of his plate appearances.

Since then, the strikeout problems have lingered but things have gone a bit better when he does put the bat on the ball. He split 2022 between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 20 home runs that year while slashing .234/.338/.444. He struck out at 33.4% clip but also drew walks 12.2% of the time and his overall performance translated to a 100 wRC+, exactly average.

Last year, he struck out in 32.2% of his appearances, all at Triple-A, but hit 17 homers and slashed .270/.351/.474 for a wRC+ of 97. In this year’s Spring Training, he was punched out in 40.6% of his 32 plate appearances but also drew walks 15.6% of the time and hit two dingers for a .231/.375/.500 batting line.

Prior to this move, the A’s only had two catchers on their 40-man roster in Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom. The latter was optioned to Triple-A a couple of weeks ago, with the club seemingly preferring for him to have regular playing time as opposed to sitting on the bench as the backup to Langeliers. McCann will get to join the big league club and will be making his debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Newcomb has been battling soreness in his surgically-repaired left knee and it seemed the A’s don’t expect him to be able to return between now and late May. The same goes for Díaz, who has dealt with both a groin strain and a calf strain this spring.

A’s Sign Scott Alexander

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The Athletics announced the signing of free agent left-hander Scott Alexander to a one-year contract. Left-hander Ken Waldichuk, who’s recovering from a flexor strain and UCL sprain, has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot. Alexander, a client of Apex Baseball, is reportedly guaranteed $2.25MM. The deal includes up to $300K in performance incentives and an unspecified assignment bonus in the event of a trade.

The 34-year-old Alexander is the third recent member of the Giants pitching staff to head across the bay to Oakland, joining righty Ross Stripling and lefty Alex Wood. Stripling was traded to the A’s earlier this month in a deal that sent 2023 sixth-rounder Jonah Cox back to the Giants. Wood inked a one-year, $8.5MM deal at that same time. They’ll both pitch out of the rotation, whereas Alexander figures to head to the Oakland bullpen.

Alexander spent the past two years in the Giants’ bullpen and has appeared in parts of four seasons with the Dodgers (where he was also teammates with Stripling and Wood) and another three with the Royals as well. He sports a career 3.29 ERA in 270 2/3 big league innings, though last year was a down season that saw the southpaw turn in a career-high 4.66 ERA in 48 1/3 frames for San Francisco.

Alexander has never missed many bats, instead relying on a sinker that’s produced a mammoth 68.4% ground-ball rate to help him neutralize opposing lineups. He battled command issues earlier in his career but has reined in the walks over the past three seasons, issuing a free pass to just 4.7% of his opponents during that time. He’s also recorded a 14.5% strikeout rate that ranks among the lowest in the league. Even with the lack of punchouts, fielding-independent metrics feel Alexander’s 3.56 ERA dating back to 2021 is generally in line with his skill set. He touts a 3.47 FIP and 3.53 SIERA in that time, both right in line with his earned run average.

Throughout his career, Alexander has shown a noticeable platoon split. Left-handed hitters have mustered a miserable .218/.274/.311 batting line against him through 442 plate appearances, while right-handed hitters have turned in a far better .275/.349/.377 slash.

With this signing, Alexander joins righty Trevor Gott and fellow southpaw Sean Newcomb as the most experienced relievers in the Oakland bullpen. The Giants tended to use him in lower-leverage spots and even deployed Alexander as an opener on eight occasions in 2023, but he’s worked in higher-leverage spots in the past, including a 2018 season that saw him pile up a career-high 21 holds for the Dodgers. Given the youth and inexperience in Oakland’s bullpen, Alexander ought to get some more leverage opportunities with the A’s than he did with the Giants. Flamethrowing 25-year-old Mason Miller, who made his MLB debut in 2023, is perhaps the favorite to take the closer’s role in 2024 after GM David Forst announced he’d work out of the ’pen this coming season, but Alexander could be a notable piece of Oakland’s setup corps in 2024.

Martín Gallegos of MLB.com first noted that Alexander had a locker in the Oakland clubhouse. MLBTR’s Steve Adams reported the sides had agreed to a major league deal. The Associated Press reported the $2.25MM base salary and the bonuses.

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