The Los Angeles Dodgers officially re-signed Scott Alexander to a one-year contract ahead of Wednesday’s non-tender deadline. The deal is reportedly worth $1 million, with all of it being fully guaranteed.
Alexander was thought to be a non-tender candidate, but the Dodgers retained all seven of their arbitration-eligible players. Austin Barnes, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Dylan Floro, Corey Seager and Julio Urias were each tendered contracts.
Alexander appeared in 13 games this year, going 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA. He was optioned to the Dodgers’ alternate training site on Sept. 2 and never rejoined the team after that.
The southpaw’s success on the field came after a battle with coronavirus (COVID-19), which delayed his arrival to Summer Camp. “I had some mild symptoms but it wasn’t too bad,” Alexander said in August.
“I just had a fever for one night. It was a pretty good fever. I never knew the temperature, but it happened to me in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. The headache was really the main symptom, but it only lasted for 24 hours.
“I mainly slept it off and was feeling good the next day. The hardest part about it was I had to quarantine for two weeks and then had about a week to 10 days where I was having a hard time of clearing the test to get back to the stadium.
“The hardest part was not being able to throw or do any activities for those three weeks, and then show up to camp with only about a week to go. That was honestly the biggest ‘symptom,’ was kind of being behind with everything. As far as physically, I felt pretty good about 24 hours after I started feeling not so hot.”
Alexander’s return gives the Dodgers some much-needed left-handed depth in the bullpen. Caleb Ferguson is expected to miss all of 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, while Jake McGee and Alex Wood both are free agents.
Dodgers acquire Corey Knebel from Brewers
In addition to re-signing Alexander ahead of the non-tender deadline, the Dodgers struck a deal to acquire former All-Star closer Corey Knebel from the Milwaukee Brewers.
The right-hander was speculated as a potential non-tender candidate, but will be eligible for salary arbitration with the Dodgers now.
Knebel appeared in 15 games this past season and largely struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. Knebel finished with a 6.08 ERA and 1.73 WHIP, but did have improved results upon returning from a hamstring strain in September.
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