Alexander James Wells (born 27 February 1997) is an Australian

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.

Professional career

Wells signed with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization as an international free agent on August 29, 2015. He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Low-A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, and spent the whole season there, posting a 4–5 record, 2.15 ERA, and a 0.91 WHIP. He spent 2017 with the Single-A

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

, pitching to an 11–5 record with a 2.38 ERA in 25 games started. Wells spent the 2018 season with the High-A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

, going 7–8 with a 3.47 ERA in 135 innings. He opened the 2019 season with the Double-A

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

, and spent the season with the team, logging a 8-6 record and 2.95 ERA in 24 appearances. He played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royal ...

following the 2019 season. Wells did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 20, 2020, Wells was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

to begin the 2021 season, where he posted a 5.63 ERA in 8 appearances. On June 25, 2021, Wells was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the following day, pitching in relief against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. Wells collected his first major league win against the Astros in Baltimore's 13–3 win on June 29. Wells was optioned back to Norfolk following the game. Wells began the 2022 season with Baltimore and was optioned to Norfolk on April 17. On May 1, it was announced that Wells would miss 8-12 weeks after suffering a Grade 1 UCL strain. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

International career

Wells was on

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...

roster for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

Personal life

His twin, Lachlan Wells, pitched in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Alex 1997 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Norfolk Tides players Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Surprise Saguaros players Australian twins Twin sportspeople 2017 World Baseball Classic players