Red Sox sign former Brewers righty Jason Alexander to minor-league deal

The Red Sox signed free agent right-hander Jason Alexander to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Worcester last week, per the club’s MLB.com transactions log. Alexander will head to Boston’s minor-league camp in Fort Myers, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Alexander, who turns 31 on Friday, has one season of major-league experience under his belt after breaking in with the Brewers in 2022. In 18 appearances (11 starts) for Milwaukee, the righty posted a 5.40 ERA and 5.34 FIP with 46 strikeouts to 28 walks over 71 2/3 innings of work.

Not to be confused with the actor who played George Costanza in Seinfeld, this Jason Alexander is the younger brother of veteran reliever Scott Alexander. He originally went undrafted out of Menlo College (Atherton, Calif.) in 2017 and instead began his professional career by signing with the Angels that summer.

After nearly three years in the Angels organization, Alexander was cut loose by Los Angeles in June 2020. He then latched on with the Marlins the following April and pitched at three different levels in 2021 before joining the Brewers that November. He made his major-league debut in June 2022 as part of being called up by Milwaukee on three separate occasions that season.

Because of a strained right rotator cuff, Alexander opened the 2023 campaign on the 60-day injured list. He began rehabbing in the Arizona Complex League last June and worked his way back up to Triple-A Nashville prior to losing his spot on the Brewers’ 40-man roster in late July. He subsequently cleared outright waivers and spent the rest of the year with Milwaukee’s top affiliate, finishing with a 5.86 ERA in 16 outings (55 1/3 innings) for the Sounds before reaching free agency in November.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds, Alexander is known for his ability to keep the ball on the ground, as evidenced by his 46.1 percent groundball rate with Nashville last year. He could potentially provide the Red Sox with experienced rotational depth at Triple-A Worcester alongside the likes of lefty Brandon Walter and righties Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Grant Gambrell, and Brian Van Belle, among others.

Alexander also has plenty of experience when it comes to pitching out of the bullpen, so he could be utilized in a relief role as well. Regardless of how the Red Sox plan on using him, Alexander does have minor-league options remaining if he were to be added to the major-league roster at some point down the line.

 (Picture of Jason Alexander: John Fisher/Getty Images)