The Athletics announced that right-hander Jason Alexander has been claimed off waivers by the Astros. Alexander was designated for assignment by the West Sacramento club earlier this week.
Signed to a minor league deal back in November, Alexander had that contract selected to the A’s roster in April, and he struggled to an 18.00 ERA over four appearances and six innings with the team. The grim results included 2 1/3 innings of nine-run ball in the Athletics’ 19-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday, and Alexander was sent to DFA limbo the next day.
This brief run with the A’s marked Alexander’s first MLB action since his 2022 rookie season, when he had a 5.40 ERA across 71 2/3 innings (starting 11 of 18 games) with the Brewers. A shoulder injury kept him shelved for a good chunk of the 2023 season, and he spent the 2024 campaign in Boston’s minor league system.
Despite the lack of production at the big league level, Alexander has some decent numbers in the minors, including a 1.27 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas this year. The grounder specialist has a 63.6% groundball rate to show for his minor league work in 2025, and Alexander has routinely topped the 50% mark in grounder rates over his minors career. At the cost of a 40-man roster spot, there’s little risk for the Astros in seeing what the 32-year-old can do as a depth arm.