Dodgers: What You Need to Know About the Newest Dodger

The Dodger’s quest to boost the bullpen this offseason has been a journey, to say the least. After losing Brandon Morrow to the Cubs and making no huge signings since then, the team took to the trade market to accomplish a goal they had set early in the winter.

On Thursday, January 4th, the Dodgers struck a three-team deal in which they received left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander from the Kansas City Royals. Alexander’s name may not be recognizable to the average baseball fan, but upon further review, he may be the answer to the Dodgers’ prayers.

Scott Alexander is your typical under the radar shutdown reliever. After being drafted in 2010, the lefty out of Sonoma State University made his way through the minor leagues in five seasons and made his debut with the Royals in 2015. That year consisted of just a taste of major league action for the then 25-year-old. The following season, 2016, was the first in which Scott Alexander proved his potential worth to a major league bullpen. That year, Alexander pitched in 17 games where he kept his ERA at a respectable 3.32 and also sported a nice ERA+ of 132.

That brings us to last year where he established himself among the game’s elite. In 58 games last season Alexander pitched 69 total innings and rocked an ERA of 2.48. He worked everything role from lefty specialist to closer as he finished the season with four saves. Alexander also finished last season with an ERA+ of 181, a score that is well above league average and would have ranked him third on the Dodgers last year behind just Kenley Jansen and Brandon Morrow.

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In addition to those statistics, Scott Alexander also leads the league in ground ball percentage among all qualifying left-handed relievers. The reason for this is his sinker. Alexander’s sinker is regarded as one of the best in all of baseball and has drawn comparisons to that of Zach Britton on the Orioles. Alexander uses his sinker ball often, throwing it 90.97 percent of the time last season and used its sharp downward break to induce ground ball outs.

As for where he fits in the Dodgers bullpen, there are multiple answers. For starters, he could be used as a left-handed specialist that would compliment the skill set of Tony Cingrani. Cingrani is a strikeout pitcher who relies heavily on velocity and a strong slider to get his outs. Scott Alexander is essentially a one pitch pitcher who hardly strikes out batters rather he keeps the ball in play and on the ground. This contrast between the two southpaws could give Dave Roberts more variety when choosing who to go with from the pen.

The second role, and the one that makes the most sense to me is high leverage and late inning relief. When you are as good as Scott Alexander the hand, you throw with is irrelevant. The Dodgers could easily and successfully stick Scott into a late-inning role as a bridge to Kenley Jansen or a high leverage pitcher. His ability to get outs is pretty obvious and that alone could make him the ideal setup man for this season.

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The trade the Dodgers made saw them part ways with another good lefty and two promising prospects. But, after digging a little deeper on Scott Alexander, the move not only makes sense but also looks on paper like it could really benefit the team. If all goes as it did last season, Scott Alexander will be a force to be reckoned with for the Dodgers this season.