Detroit Tigers wanted to bring back Tyler Alexander, but Tampa Bay Rays claim him off waivers

The Detroit Tigers hoped to bring back Tyler Alexander.

But Alexander, a multi-inning left-handed reliever, was claimed off waivers by the Tamp Bay Rays on Friday afternoon after he was designated for assignment by the Tigers on Monday.

Alexander planned to elect free agency if he cleared waivers. Instead, the 29-year-old joins the Rays and immediately takes a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.

“We still have interest in bringing him back,” Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, said Tuesday at MLB’s general manager meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I know he’s working really hard to come back from the shoulder injury to demonstrate that he can help a team in the future.”

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Alexander joined the Tigers as the No. 65 pick in the 2015 draft. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and logged a 4.38 ERA over 341⅓ innings in his five-year career, all with the Tigers.

An injury, though, derailed his 2023 season.

Alexander, whose four-seam fastball averages about 90 mph, suffered a partial tear in his lat muscle in early July. The Tigers put him on the injured list with a lat/shoulder strain. He opted for non-surgical rehabilitation, but he was shut down from throwing and missed the rest of the season.

“With Tyler, he’s such a great presence for us in our clubhouse,” Harris said. “It didn’t feel great to designate him. Given his situation coming off an injury, we had to make our decision there.”

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The good news: Alexander completed a 25-pitch live batting practice session Nov. 3 in Lakeland, Florida, just three days before the Tigers removed him from their 40-man roster. It was his second and final session facing live hitters.

He has already started his normal offseason training in Fort Worth, Texas.

Right now, Alexander appears to be healthy.

In 2023, Alexander posted a 4.50 ERA with five walks (2.8% walk rate) and 44 strikeouts (24.3% strikeout rate) across 44 innings in 25 games. He gave up too many hits, but he showed above-average underlying metrics with a 3.66 xERA and 4.10 FIP. His 1.02 walks per nine innings ranked third among 410 pitchers with at least 40 innings, yet his 1.64 home runs per nine innings ranked 342nd.

Just before the injury, Alexander was named the Tigers’ pitcher of the month for June after logging 0.96 ERA with three walks and 18 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings.

“It’s unfortunate because he was throwing the best he had thrown all year,” manager A.J. Hinch said in early July.

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Alexander entered the offseason as an arbitration-eligible player for the second time in his career. The Tigers weren’t willing to guarantee Alexander approximately $2 million for his services in the 2024 season, roughly a $125,000 raise from his $1.875 million salary in 2023.

Now, the Rays can decide whether or not to tender him a contract through the arbitration process.

It seems likely that the Rays will keep Alexander, who doesn’t become a free agent until after the 2025 season, and utilize him as a multi-inning reliever into the future.

“We’re going to see how the designation process plays out,” Harris said, three days before the Rays picked up Alexander, “and then reach back out and see if there’s a way to bring him back.”

Left-hander Joey Wentz, a 26-year-old who doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining, could be a candidate to fill Alexander’s multi-inning role in the bullpen.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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