Next up in our look back at the A’s players in 2025, we turn back to the position player side of things by remembering our brief time with rookie corner infielder CJ Alexander. Did we not give him enough of a chance with the big league team? Or is what we saw what we were always going to get?
How was he acquired?
After being drafted by the Braves in the 20th round back in 2018, Alexander slowly rose through the Atlanta system but would be traded to the Royals midway through the 2022 season. It took him another couple
of years to finally reach the big leagues and he made his major league debut with Kansas City on June 24th, 2024. His audition ultimately lasted just four games, though he would at least collect his first big league knock.
Alexander was optioned and spent two more months with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate before the A’s put in a waiver claim for the lefty-swinging third baseman. He spent most of the final month of ‘24 bouncing between third base and left field with the Aviators and hit 3 homers in just 12 games, which was enough to entice the A’s to keep the young corner infielder around for the winter.
What were the expectations?
Entering Spring Training starting out on the 40-man roster, it seemed inevitable that the A’s would eventually elect to move on from their aging veterans and get a look at a young and hungry player such as Alexander. How long that would take depended on a few factors, such as place in the standings and the performance of those vets. Neither would end up being any sort of major road block.
While he was a bit on the older side he was also coming off perhaps his strongest year in the minors. And he’d always shown some pop in his bat as well. Since the start of the 2024 season Alexander hit .287/.357/.544, an above-average line while playing at the highest level of the minors. Add in the versatility and it’s easy to see the enticement.
2025 Results
Now into his age-28 season Alexander began the year with Triple-A Las Vegas, getting everyday at-bats while expanding his defensive capabilities. Over the first month of the season Alexander not only played 17 games at the hot corner but he also got nearly as many starts at first base plus a handful of appearances in the corner outfield. During this time he slashed .252/.348/.509 with 10 long balls in just 42 games in Vegas.
That was a strong performance in the batter’s box but it was an injury that gave Alexander his first shot with the big league club. A strained hamstring sent veteran third baseman Gio Urshela to the IL in mid-May and the club recalled the rookie to take his place on the active roster. He managed to get a couple of starts at each of the infield corners in his brief time with the A’s, during which he collected just three singles in 17 at-bats while striking out 8 times.
That wasn’t enough for the A’s and they DFA’d Alexander after spending just two weeks with the big league club. Maybe the front office hoped to sneak him through waivers but it wasn’t meant to be as the Yankees put in and won a claim for him. His big league struggles followed him back to the minors and New York would DFA him after less than a month in their organization. The World Series Champion Dodgers were the next team to claim him and he spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A squad and hitting much more like he had before with Las Vegas.
2026 Outlook
Alexander didn’t make it to the big leagues with the Dodgers, and with how stacked their roster is there aren’t many obvious paths to getting back to The Show with them, much less playing time. That’s why he predictably elected free agency last week and is now free to sign anywhere he so chooses.
At this point it’s more or less obvious that he’s going to have to settle for a minor league contract. He’ll be turning 29 halfway through next season so the proverbial clock is ticking for him to break through after just 25 career at=bats. He hit well enough with the Dodgers’ Triple-A team and should be able to find another team with some potential future big league opportunity, but as things stand that likely won’t be with the A’s for a second go-around.
