Lefty becomes third pitcher to head from SF to Oakland this offseason

The 34-year-old Alexander is the third recent member of the Giants pitching staff to head across the bay to Oakland, joining righty Ross Stripling and lefty Alex Wood. Stripling was traded to the A’s earlier this month in a deal that sent 2023 sixth-rounder Jonah Cox back to the Giants. Wood inked a one-year, $8.5M deal at that same time. They’ll both pitch out of the rotation, whereas Alexander figures to head to the Oakland bullpen.

Alexander spent the past two years in the Giants’ bullpen and has appeared in parts of four seasons with the Dodgers (where he was also teammates with Stripling and Wood) and another three with the Royals as well. He sports a career 3.29 ERA in 270 2/3 big league innings, though last year was a down season that saw the southpaw turn in a career-high 4.66 ERA in 48 1/3 frames for San Francisco.

Alexander has never missed many bats, instead relying on a sinker that’s produced a mammoth 68.4 percent ground-ball rate to help him neutralize opposing lineups. He battled command issues earlier in his career but has reined in the walks over the past three seasons, issuing a free pass to just 4.7 percent of his opponents during that time. He’s also recorded a 14.5 percent strikeout rate that ranks among the lowest in the league. 

Even with the lack of punchouts, fielding-independent metrics feel Alexander’s 3.56 ERA dating back to 2021 is generally in line with his skill set. He touts a 3.47 FIP and 3.53 SIERA in that time, both right in line with his earned run average.

Throughout his career, Alexander has shown a noticeable platoon split. Left-handed hitters have mustered a miserable .218/.274/.3111 batting line against him through 442 plate appearances, while right-handed hitters have turned in a far better .275/.349/.377 slash.

With this signing, Alexander joins righty Trevor Gott and fellow southpaw Sean Newcomb as the most experienced relievers in the Oakland bullpen. The Giants tended to use him in lower-leverage spots and even deployed Alexander as an opener on eight occasions in 2023, but he’s worked in higher-leverage spots in the past, including a 2018 season that saw him pile up a career-high 21 holds for the Dodgers.

 Given the youth and inexperience in Oakland’s bullpen, Alexander ought to get some more leverage opportunities with the A’s than he did with the Giants. Flamethrowing 25-year-old Mason Miller, who made his MLB debut in 2023, is perhaps the favorite to take the closer’s role in 2024 after GM David Forst announced he’d work out of the ’pen this coming season, but Alexander could be a notable piece of Oakland’s setup corps in 2024.