Alex Young, a reliever, is returning to the Cincinnati Reds for the 2025 campaign. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the left-handed reliever has been invited to major league spring training and is signing a minor league contract.
After founding the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019, Alex Young entered the major leagues. He remained with them until the end of July 2021, when Cleveland selected him on waivers. Before the San Francisco Giants acquired his contract in July 2022, he pitched for Terry Francona, the new Reds manager, for the next year. After the season, he joined with the Reds after becoming a free agent.
After adjusting for the ballparks he pitched in during the season, the lefty’s 2023 ERA of 3.86 (121 ERA+) was 21% better than the league average. Despite giving up 10 home runs, he pitched 53.2 innings in 63 games with 20 walks and 50 strikeouts.
Alex Young spent some time on the disabled list due to low back disc degeneration during the start of the 2024 season. After staying there for five weeks, he started a Triple-A rehab assignment. He was activated and joined the Reds after almost a month there. Before being optioned to the minor levels, he appeared in three games and tossed 2.0 innings against the Cubs and Cardinals. Young was dealt to the Giants by Cincinnati after five weeks with Louisville, and the Mets claimed him on waivers ten days later.
He alternated between the lower levels and the main leagues when he was with New York, but in his 14 appearances with the major league team, he recorded a 3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched, with seven walks and 13 strikeouts. When added to his 2.0 innings pitched for Cincinnati, his highest-level 2024 ERA was 2.87. He pitched 32.0 more innings with a 2.81 ERA for three clubs in Triple-A.
The lefty is returning to Cincinnati on a minor league contract. Given the 31-year-old’s background, it wouldn’t be shocking to find that he had an opt-out late in spring training, even though it wasn’t announced at the time—and it seldom is.
Leave a Reply