Red Sox Officially Sign Ex-Brewers Hurler To Bolster Pitching Depth

Boston could use some extra help

Scott Neville | Feb 27, 2024

Red Sox Officially Sign Ex-Brewers Hurler To Bolster Pitching Depth /

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Boston Red Sox

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.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Making Progress Toward Deal After Strong Meeting

Published Feb 27, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu