DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 26: Tyler Alexander #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Detroit … [+]
Tyler Alexander just wants to pitch, regardless of the situation.
Which is why when in search of a job for 2025, the left-hander found a perfect fit with the Milwaukee Brewers, who signed him to a one-year free agent contract on the opening day of Spring Training.
“I was looking for as many innings as I can get,” Anderson said Thursday after reporting to Brewers’ camp in Phoenix.
“My goal every year, because I’ve done both starting and relieving, is always to get to 100 innings. And the situation here, I thought was perfect with the young staff, the need for a guy to fill in here as a starter and then kind of move back and forth – I’ve done both – and then the need for innings here.”
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Alexander, 30, set a career-high last season when he covered 107 2/3 innings over 23 appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays. The way he logged those innings, however, is what made him particularly appealing for the Brewers.
A true swingman, Alexander worked both as a starter and out of the bullpen for the Rays last season and of his 14 relief appearances, he pitched at least three innings 13 times and he worked at least four innings on nine different occasions.
“I got a number of text messages yesterday from his former coaches, and they rave about him,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s got enough ‘veteran-ness’ to him and enough versatility that I think it’s exciting as hell.”
That versatility will be valuable for the Brewers, who face the prospect of potentially opening the season without two of their projected five starters as Brandon Woodruff eases his way back into the mix after missing all of last year due to shoulder surgery and left-hander DL Hall opened camp in shut-down mode after suffering a lat strain late in the offseason.
Even if those two are back sooner rather than later, the ability to cover multiple innings out of the bullpen will help manager Pat Murphy keep his relief corps fresh — something that proved difficult at times last season.
“I think the ability to do both keeps it exciting throughout the year,” Alexander said. “I think it’s very valuable. There’s not many swing men. There’s not many people that want to do it. If you’re starting, you typically just want to start all the time but I kind of pride myself on doing whatever the team needs. I think it’s fun, kind of not knowing. The mystery of it all, and just being ready for it.”
On the surface, Alexander’s numbers aren’t eye-dropping. He went 6-5 with a 5.10 ERA last season, including a 5-3 record and 5.81 ERA as a reliever, though he did set a career-high with 90 strikeouts while walking just 24 batters.
He compiled those numbers with a six-pitch arsenal including a four-seam fastball that clocked in at an average of 88.9 MPH. Alexander’s most frequent pitch was a 85 MPH cutter, which he threw 32% of the time, and he also mixes in a sweeper, changeup and occasional sinker.
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It’s a pitch mix that produced a chase rate of 30.8 percent and a whiff rate of 20.1%, not to mention its also the kind of mix a number of other somewhat unheralded or underrated pitchers have taken to another level under the tutelage of pitching coach Chris Hook and his staff.
“That plays a big factor,” Alexander said. “The history of what they’ve done with pitchers similar to me, what they’ve been able to do by finding certain things they can tweak to optimize and bring out the best in me.”
To make room for Alexander on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee transferred left-hander Robert Gasser to the 60-day injured list. Gasser underwent Tommy John surgery last June and isn’t be back until late August at the earliest.
