Alexander James McRae (born April 6, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Career

McRae attended Eisenhower High School in

New Berlin, Wisconsin New Berlin () is a city located along the Milwaukee /Waukesha County Border in the U.S. State of Wisconsin. The population was 40,451 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest community in Waukesha County after the cities of Waukesha and ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...

. As a junior, he was 5–7 with a 6.06 ERA in 16 games (15 starts).

Pittsburgh Pirates

After his junior year, he was drafted by the

in the 10th round of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, and he signed. After signing, McRae made his professional debut with the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team playe ...

where he was 3–6 with a 6.21 ERA in 15 starts. In 2015 he played for the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

where he pitched to an 8–9 record and 4.98 ERA in 28 games (27 starts), and in 2016 he pitched for both the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

and

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

, compiling a combined 11–10 record and 3.88 ERA in 28 games (27 being starts). He spent 2017 with Altoona where he was 10–5 with a 3.61 ERA in 27 games (25 starts). He began 2018 with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. McRae was called up to the majors for the first time on July 7, 2018. The Pirates

designated Designation (from Latin ''designatio'') is the process of determining an incumbent's successor. A candidate that won an election for example, is the ''designated'' holder of the office the candidate has been elected to, up until the candidate's i ...

him for assignment after the season. He had his contract selected on May 27, 2019. McRae was outrighted off the Pirates roster on November 4, and elected free agency on November 7.

Chicago White Sox

On January 8, 2020, McRae signed a minor league deal with the

that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. His contract was purchased on September 5, 2020, and he was called up to the major leagues and made two relief appearances. He pitched three scoreless innings. McRae was designated for the assignment on September 29, the same day the White Sox were slated to play the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the Wild Card round. McRae re-signed with the White Sox before the start of the 2021 season. The deal was a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. On April 20, 2021, McRae was selected to the active roster. McRae recorded a 4.50 ERA in 2 appearances with Chicago before being outrighted off of the 40-man roster on June 26. On October 8, McRae elected free agency.

Lake Country DockHounds

On January 25, 2022, McRae signed with the

Lake Country DockHounds The Lake Country DockHounds are a professional baseball team based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The DockHounds played their first ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. McRae started 14 games for Lake Country, pitching to a 5-4 record and 4.01 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 83.0 innings of work, and was named an American Association All-Star. McRae made 3 appearances (1 start) for the DockHounds in 2023, struggling to an 11.25 ERA with 3 strikeouts in 4.0 innings pitched. A shoulder injury would end his career and on June 21, 2023, McRae was released by the team.https://aabaseball.com/transactions/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Alex 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from West Allis, Wisconsin Baseball players from Wisconsin Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Chicago White Sox players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players Jamestown Jammers players West Virginia Power players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Surprise Saguaros players Indianapolis Indians players Charlotte Knights players Lake Country DockHounds players