A.J. Alexy: Another Hot Stove leftover for the White Sox

It’s tough being a White Sox fan these days. Many, if not most of us, still have an extremely bitter taste left over from the backwash of the 2022 season. We can’t even go to Sox Fest to try and cleanse our palates, because those dinner reservations were cancelled by the restaurant. And every other day, it seems, another mouthful of tasteless fodder gets crammed down our throats.

Monday was no different. It’s just another Groundhog Day — it’s right around the corner, actually, so, fitting — as the team claims another “guy” off of waivers. The Sox filled out their last spot on the 40-man roster with righthander A.J. Alexy and his bad facial hair.

Technically, Alexy came from Minnesota, although he never stepped foot on the field for them. On Jan. 10, 2023, the Washington Nationals traded Alexy to the Twins for righty Cristian Jimenez. However, when the Kansas City Royals traded center fielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins for pitchers Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz two weeks later, it left no room on Minnesota’s 40-man for Alexy, so he was DFA’d.

The transactions fun continues, though, as Alexy never played for the Nationals, either. He was picked up off of waivers by Washington from the Rangers on December 13, after Texas DFA’d him on December 9. Are you following all that? I hope the poor guy hadn’t rented an apartment in either Washington or Minneapolis yet.

So basically, this looks like another pitching depth move that is even more necessary now than it was before the Mike Clevinger situation (a likely suspension, or at the very least a heavy distraction) arose. Alexy, 24, will likely end up in Charlotte, where at least he can fill out their rotation, hopefully giving the Knights five starters to fill out their rotation.

Alexy spent most of 2022 at Triple-A Round Rock, where he went 6-6 with a 6.28 ERA in 96 IP and 103 strikeouts in 31 games. In his six minor-league seasons, the hurler is 19-25 with a 3.93 ERA and 465 strikeouts over 396 1⁄3 IP in 105 games. Alexy owns a 10.56 K/9, which is well above league average, and certainly one of the things that caught the eye of the Sox. On the other hand, he has control issues that have loomed large during his big-league outings: In nine MLB games for Texas in 2021-22, Alexy was 4-2 with a 6.30 ERA over 30 IP, with 23 strikeouts but 26 walks.

Alexy could be another Ethan Katz undertaking; Katz won’t have time to sleep at this rate, with all the “projects” he has on his plate.