Red Sox Officially Sign Ex-Brewers Hurler To Bolster Pitching Depth
The Boston Red Sox have been waiting out the Jordan Montgomery sweepstakes to see if he and agent Scott Boras will eventually lower their price tag as owner John Henry remains frugal for reasons unknown.
In the meantime, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been using the pennies he's been allotted to add some help -- the latest of which could factor into both the rotation and bullpen depth.
The Red Sox have signed Jason Alexander to a minor league contract according to the club’s transactions log. No, not the actor who played George Costanza in Seinfeld but the journeyman hurler aiming to factor in the Red Sox's plans this season.
Alexander's last few seasons have been up and down. He posted a 5.86 ERA with a 35-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .322 batting average against and 1.66 WHIP in 55 1/3 innings last season for Triple-A Nashville.
Not only were his stats underwhelming but his low strikeout rate and high BAA indicate that there was no fluke in his lackluster season.
The year prior, however, he posted a 2.84 ERA with a 47-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .244 batting average against and 1.18 WHIP in 63 1/3 innings for the Nashville Sounds. His performance was enough to receive a big-league call-up -- where he posted a 5.40 ERA across 71 2/3 innings.
Alexander will hope to get his career in the right direction with the Red Sox's revamped pitching development program but his low strikeout rate paired with a high contact rate leaves little to get excited about.
We'll see if Breslow and company can mold him into a quality hurler in the coming months.
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