Jason Alexander: Everything you need to know

The Astros optioned Alexander to minor-league camp Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. The veteran right-hander had a 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 65:26 K:BB across 77.1 innings between Atlanta and Houston last season but was never a likely bet to crack the Astros' Opening Day roster. Alexander is likely to work out of the rotation at Triple-A Sugar Land to begin 2026 and could get another look in the majors as a swingman at some point this year.

Alexander allowed four runs on five hits and a walk across two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's Grapefruit League matchup with the Mets. He struck out one. It was a disastrous start to the spring for Alexander, who gave up back-to-back one-out singles before Mike Tauchman smacked a three-run homer in the first inning. Alexander then gave up a solo shot to Ronny Mauricio with two outs, followed by a single and a walk, before he was ultimately pulled. Alexander served as a swingman for Houston after he was acquired off waivers from the A's in May. The right-hander posted a 4.77 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP and 65:26 K:BB across 77.1 innings between the Astros and Athletics. Alexander will likely start the year with Triple-A Sugar Land if he can't crack the Opening Day bullpen.

Alexander didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Angels, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk over 4.2 innings. He struck out four. The 32-year-old righty has crashed back to earth after blanking the Blue Jays over seven innings back on Sept. 10. Alexander has failed to complete five innings in any of his last three starts, stumbling to an 8.44 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB in 10.2 innings while serving up four homers, including a Mike Trout solo shot Friday. The Astros are on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs -- they need to win their last two games, and have either the Guardians or Tigers lose both their final contests -- but if the squeak in, it's not clear what role Alexander might have on the postseason staff. He wraps up the regular season having posted a 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 60:21 K:BB over 71.1 innings for Houston.