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.
More to come.
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