The Rockies add a veteran with a history of success to their bullpen after alluding to it all off-season.
The Colorado Rockies announced via press release on Wednesday that they had signed veteran left-handed relief pitcher Scott Alexander to a one-year MLB deal. Alexander will make $2 million this season.
Alexander, 35, was a sixth round pick in the 2010 draft by the Kansas City Royals and has ten big league seasons under his belt with the Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and most recently the Oakland Athletics.
In 2024 with the Athletics he made 45 appearances out of the bullpen and pitched 38 2⁄3 total innings with a 2.56 ERA and 31 strikeouts. His 7.2 SO/9 was his highest since 2018, though his 3.5 BB/9 was also his highest mark in a full season since 2019.
Alexander is not a strikeout-focused pitcher. His career SO/9 is just 6.8, but he’s also done well at limiting the damage in terms of earned runs and the long ball. Alexander’s strength is utilizing a combination of a low-velocity sinker, a changeup, and a slider on the mound to induce ground balls with a 66.8% career ground ball rate and a ground ball rate of 60% or higher in each of his ten big league seasons. Over his ten-year career he holds an HR/9 of just 0.6 with only 20 total home runs allowed and a 3.20 ERA across 309 1⁄3 innings of work—almost exclusively in relief.
By signing Alexander, the Rockies add a new veteran presence with a solid track record to a very young bullpen. He is the only reliever on the 40-man roster born before 1990 and just one of four relievers born before 1995. He has also posted a positive wins above replacement value per Baseball Reference in all but one of his big league seasons, as well as an ERA+ above league average in all but two.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rockies have chosen to designate utility infielder Aaron Schunk for assignment. Schunk, 27, was a second round pick in 2019 and made his major league debut last season. He hit .234/.265/.330 with two home runs, three doubles, and seven RBI over 94 at-bats while playing multiple infield positions.
The Rockies have loaded up on veteran infielders this off-season, bringing in Kyle Farmer and Thairo Estrada on big league deals, trading for Owen Miller, and inviting former first round pick Keston Hiura to spring training.