Dodgers News: Scott Alexander Heads Out to Oklahoma City on Rehab Assignment

The Dodgers have been a little bit short-handed on left-handed bullpen help in 2021. They have Victor Gonzalez, but even he hasn’t been the lights-out option that he was in 2020. David Price has been a good length option but his splits against left-handed hitters aren’t encouraging. 

Luckily, the Dodgers did get Garrett Cleavinger back this week as well. He’s been a solid addition now that he is pitching healthy. Los Angeles should also be getting back another southpaw in the coming weeks. 

Scott Alexander was sent out on rehab assignment on Thursday. The left-handed pitcher will spend some time with the Oklahoma City Dodgers before rejoining the big league squad. When that is entirely depends on how his time at Triple-A goes. 

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Alexander was taking big steps forward before being sidelined by left shoulder inflammation. Through 13 appearances, he pitched to a 2.13 ERA and got his walk rate way down from the 2020 and 2019 seasons with the Dodgers. 

More importantly, Alexander is doing the thing that made the Dodgers trade for him in the first place: getting ground balls on soft contact. Alexander is allowing an average exit velocity of 83 mph and getting groundballs 63 percent of the time. 

That’s exactly the combination that made Alexander such an intriguing option when they traded for him. If he can keep that up coming out of his rehab assignment, he’s going to be a HUGE addition to the bullpen. 

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