Orioles' Alex Jackson: Slides to third on depth chart
Rotowire
Orioles manager Tony Mansolino confirmed prior to Sunday's 12-0 win over the Astros that Jackson will serve as the team's No. 3 catcher behind Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo moving forward, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Widely regarded as one of the organization's top prospects, Basallo was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday and entered the lineup at designated hitter for the series finale with Houston. While Rutschman is likely to see the bulk of the starts behind the plate for the rest of the season, Mansolino indicated that Basallo will be the top choice to handle catching duties when Rutschman needs a day off or is deployed as a DH. With that in mind, Jackson -- who had been serving as Rutschman's top understudy -- appears likely to see his already limited opportunities dwindle further over the final six weeks of the season. Jackson is slashing .227/.292/.591 with three home runs, four RBI and 11 runs over 48 plate appearances for Baltimore since being acquired from the Yankees on July 6.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Alex Jackson: Held hitless Sunday
Rotowire
Jackson went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Rockies.
Jackson picked up his third start behind the dish in four games, with all three starts coming against left-handed pitchers. The 29-year-old backstop had produced four total extra-base hits (two home runs, two doubles) in his last three games, but his batting average dropped down to .269 after the 0-for-3 showing Sunday. Jackson has been sharing time with Jacob Stallings behind the dish, but one of the two could be at risk of losing his roster spot with Adley Rutschman (oblique) due back from the 10-day injured list Monday.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Alex Jackson: Heading to Baltimore
Rotowire
The Orioles acquired Jackson from the Yankees on Sunday in exchange for $250,000 in international signing bonus pool money, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports. Baltimore selected Jackson's contract from Triple-A Norfolk, and he'll be available for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
With the Orioles' catching depth taking another hit after Gary Sanchez sprained his knee Saturday, Jackson was brought in to provide a much-needed healthy body behind the plate. The 29-year-old Jackson owns a .132/.224/.232 slash line in 340 plate appearances across parts of five seasons in the big leagues, and in 44 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2025, he's batted .226 with 10 home runs and a 10.4 percent walk rate. He'll temporarily settle in as Baltimore's No. 2 catcher behind Jacob Stallings, though Jackson will likely lose his spot on the 40-man roster once one of Sanchez, Adley Rutschman (oblique), Maverick Handley (concussion) or Chadwick Tromp (back) returns from the IL.
... See More... See Less
Yankees' Alex Jackson: Re-signed to MiLB deal
Rotowire
The Yankees re-signed Jackson to a minor-league contract Sunday.
Jackson opted out of his minor-league deal with the Yankees after being told he was not going to make the Opening Day roster, but he was quickly re-signed to a new minor-league pact. He will provide catching depth at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
... See More... See Less
Yankees' Alex Jackson: Competing for backup catcher job
Rotowire
Jackson went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk and three RBI in Friday's Grapefruit League win over Toronto.
Jackson drove in half of New York's runs in the exhibition contest, drilling a solo homer to left field in the fifth inning and adding a two-run double in the sixth. The 29-year-old is trying to secure the Yankees' backup catcher job this spring, with J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice also candidates for the role.
... See More... See Less
Yankees' Alex Jackson: Traded to Pinstripes
Rotowire
The Reds traded Jackson to the Yankees on Friday alongside Fernando Cruz in exchange for Jose Trevino, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.
Jackson split time between Triple-A and the big leagues as part of the Rays organization last season. He slashed .238/.322/.533 with eight homers and 20 RBI in the minors but wasn't able to find his footing in the big leagues, finishing with a .438 OPS over 155 MLB plate appearances. The 28-year-old signed a minor-league deal with the Reds in November but will now compete with J.C. Escarra in spring training for the backup catcher spot in New York.
... See More... See Less
Reds' Alex Jackson: Signs with Cincy
Rotowire
Jackson signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Friday.
Although Jackson managed to record a career-high 155 plate appearances with the Rays in 2024, he continued to struggle at the plate, slashing just .122/.201/.237 with 12 RBI. However, his OPS jumped up to .855 at Triple-A Durham, so the Reds will take a flier on him and likely send him to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2025 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Alex Jackson: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Jackson has elected free agency, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jackson initially remained in the Rays' organization after being outrighted off their 40-man roster last month, but he's now exercised his right to free agency. The catcher has a career .456 OPS over parts of five major-league seasons.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Passes through waivers
Rotowire
Jackson cleared waivers Saturday and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham.
Jackson has served as the Rays' No. 2 catcher for much of the season and was one of baseball's least-productive hitters during his time in the big leagues. Among the 393 players who have logged at least 150 plate appearances in 2024, Jackson's 29 wRC+ placed him 392nd. Since the Rays elected to drop Jackson from their 40-man roster, Logan Driscoll has taken over as the top backup to Ben Rortvedt.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: DFA'd by Tampa Bay
Rotowire
The Rays designated Jackson for assignment Thursday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Jackson has slashed only .122/.201/.237 in 58 games this season. The Rays will now use Logan Driscoll as their backup catcher behind Ben Rortvedt.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Retreating to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Jackson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.
Jackson will give way to Rob Brantly behind the dish as the Rays wrap up their series in Oakland. Ben Rortvedt (personal) is likely to return from the paternity list this weekend in Los Angeles, so Jackson's brief run as the Rays' No. 1 backstop should soon come to an end. Jackson owns a lowly .434 OPS over 144 plate appearances on the season, but he's shown some improvement since the All-Star break with a .200/.294/.378 slash line across 18 games.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Pops second homer
Rotowire
Jackson went 1-for-3 with a walk, a three-run home run and two runs scored Saturday against the Yankees.
Jackson was in the lineup to give Ben Rortvedt a day off and delivered his second home run of the season. He'll continue to play sparingly as the backup catcher and has just a .361 OPS and .091 average for the campaign.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Starting in place of resting Rortvedt
Rotowire
Jackson will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jackson will get a turn behind the plate while top backstop Ben Rortvedt rests for the day game after a night game. Since his call-up from Triple-A Durham on May 3, Jackson is hitting a lowly .081/.159/.161 with 31 strikeouts in 70 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Returns to bench
Rotowire
Jackson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Boston.
Jackson had started at catcher in five of the past six games, but he went hitless with 11 strikeouts and one walk across 14 plate appearances during that stretch. Despite his hefty workload of late, Jackson still looks to be the No. 2 option at catcher behind Ben Rortvedt, who is back in the lineup Wednesday.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Returning to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Jackson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jackson had started behind the plate in each of the past three games, but he struck out in all six of his at-bats during that stretch while drawing a walk in his lone other plate appearance. One of his starts came against a lefty and another came versus a righty (Chris Flexen) with reverse splits, so the right-handed-hitting Jackson still looks to be in the short side of a platoon at catcher with the lefty-hitting Ben Rortvedt, who rejoins the lineup Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Has contract selected
Rotowire
Jackson had his contract selected by the Rays on Friday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
After slashing .282/.344/.612 with seven homers across 93 plate appearances with Triple-A Durham, Jackson was called up to the bigs, where he'll look to see his first MLB action since 2022 with the Brewers. Jackson replaces Rene Pinto -- who was optioned to Triple-A -- and should serve as Ben Rortvedt's backup but could see extra work against left-handed pitching.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Misses out on Opening Day roster
Rotowire
The Rays will reassign Jackson to the minors prior to Thursday's season opener versus the Blue Jays, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.
Among the internal options the Rays had at spring training, Jackson appeared well positioned to make the Opening Day roster as the No. 2 catcher behind Rene Pinto, but Jackson dropped a spot on the organizational depth chart after Tampa Bay acquired Ben Rortvedt from the Yankees on Wednesday. Unless he opts out of his minor-league deal, Jackson is expected to open the season as the primary backstop for Triple-A Durham.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Struggling in exhibition action
Rotowire
Jackson has a .325 OPS while striking out seven times across 19 plate appearances in Grapefruit League action.
Jackson entered spring training as the favorite to win the backup catcher job, though his performance to this point hasn't helped his cause. The team has also since added Francisco Mejia on a minor-league deal, so Jackson may no longer be in the picture for a roster spot to begin the regular season.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Healthy for spring training
Rotowire
Jackson (shoulder) will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jackson will pick up his second start behind the dish this spring after he went 1-for-2 with a base hit while catching four innings against the Tigers on Sunday. After being acquired in a trade from the Brewers on Aug. 1, Jackson appeared in 14 games at Triple-A Durham before being shut down for the final month of the season due to a right shoulder injury. Now healthy again and attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee, Jackson will look to win a spot on the Rays' Opening Day roster as a reserve backstop.
... See More... See Less
Rays' Alex Jackson: Re-signs with Rays
Rotowire
The Rays re-signed Jackson (shoulder) to a minor-league contract Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The deal presumably includes an invitation to spring training. Jackson hit four homers in 14 games with Triple-A Durham this season after being acquired from the Brewers but missed the last several weeks of the season with a right shoulder injury. If healthy, he gives the Rays an option to pair with Rene Pinto at catcher.
