Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday that he expects Alexander to fill a more traditional bullpen role this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
During summer camp, Gardenhire floated the possibility of using Alexander and Michael Fulmer as part of a piggyback tandem for the fourth spot in the rotation while the latter eases back from March 2019 Tommy John surgery, but that plan has seemingly been scrapped. Alexander worked 1.2 innings (22 pitches) in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Reds, and while he should be available Monday when Fulmer serves as the Tigers' opening pitcher against the Royals, the lefty likely won't be tasked with the bulk-relief role. Instead, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser may be better candidates to handle the majority of the innings behind Fulmer.
