A's Claim Infielder From Kansas City Royals

Jason Burke | Sep 5, 2024

Jun 25, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman CJ Alexander (40) runs to first base in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images / Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

The Oakland Athletics made a flurry of roster moves on Wednesday, which included reinstating veteran left-hander Tyler Alexander from the IL, optioning right-hander Joe Boyle to Triple-A Las Vegas, and moving ourfielder Esteury Ruiz to the 60-day IL. The final move was to claim infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

Alexander, 28, was originally selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 20th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, and stayed with the club until the 2022 season when they shipped him out to Kansas City along with outfielder Drew Waters and right-hander Andrew Hoffman in exchange for a competitive balance pick that they used to select JR RItchie, a high school righty that is currently ranked as Atlanta's No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Across 1,887 minor-league plate appearances since being drafted, Alexander has hit .253 with a .315 OBP. Over the last three seasons his power has developed, whacking 25 homers in '22, 17 in 92 games in '23, and 16 in 82 games this year after combining to hit 14 homers in his first three seasons combined.

This year has also been a bit of a breakout season for Alexander, as he has hit .303 with a .352 OBP while playing in Triple-A in the Royals system, though that does come with a .355 BABIP. He made his MLB debut with the Royals on June 24, and in four games played he went 1-for-8 with three strikeouts.

He is primarily a third baseman, collecting 2190 1/3 innings in the field at the position, but he has also earned nearly 1,000 innings at first base, with a lot of those innings coming in 2022 and 2023.

With the A's holding one of the best records in the American League in the second half of the season, we've started to see some guys at the big-league level solidify their own roster spots around the diamond. One position that is still left unclaimed is third base. The A's are currently giving Tristan Gray a look in Oakland, who also plays first and third, though his look as been mostly at first base thus far.

Max Schuemann is in the mix to be the A's third baseman, but he also provides value by being a regular player that can slide around the field and play numerous positions when someone needs a day off.

There is a chance that if Gray doesn't produce offensively to the team's liking that Alexander could be called up for a brief audition before season's end. It's unlikely that both players remain on the A's 40-man roster throughout the course of the offseason, with Miguel Andujar, Ruiz, Ken Waldichuk, and Luis Medina all needing to be activated from the 60-day IL once the World Series is over.

The A's will also need to protect any Rule 5 eligible players they don't want to lose, so we can expect some tough decisions to be made in the coming weeks. Right now, Gray and Alexander are options, and they have just a few weeks to prove themselves to be potential answers for the club heading into 2025.