Rays claim left-hander Tyler Alexander off waivers from Tigers

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays added some pitching depth Friday, claiming left-hander Tyler Alexander off waivers from the Tigers.

Alexander, 29, was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA over 25 games for the Tigers last season as a multi-inning reliever but didn’t pitch after July 2 due to a lat strain (shoulder area). He resumed throwing toward the end of the season and is expected to be ready for spring training.

Claiming Alexander fills the Rays’ 40-man roster, though at least a couple of players are likely to be dropped or traded to make room for prospects to be added by Tuesday’s deadline to protect them from being taken in the Rule 5 draft.

Alexander is arbitration-eligible, projected to make around $2 million, and still can be optioned to the minors. The Tigers designated him for assignment last week, saying they would be open to bringing him back if he cleared waivers.

Alexander has pitched parts of five seasons for the Tigers, compiling an 11-23 record and 4.38 ERA with a 1.286 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and 273 strikeouts over 341⅓ innings. He was a second-round pick in the 2015 draft from TCU.

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