Alec Sawyer Gipson-Long (born December 12, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Gipson-Long played college baseball at Mercer University.

Minnesota Twins

Gipson-Long was drafted by 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 ...

in the sixth round, with the 179th overall selection, of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

. In 6 starts, he recorded a 5.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts in innings pitched. Gipson-Long did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to action in 2021, splitting the year between the Single–A Fort Myers Miracle and High–A Cedar Rapids Kernels. In 20 games (19 starts), Gipson-Long registered a cumulative 8–8 record and 4.55 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 97.0 innings of work. He began the 2022 season with Cedar Rapids, and was promoted to the Double–A Wichita Wind Surge after posting a 1.99 ERA across 10 starts. In 8 games (7 starts), he struggled to a 7.17 ERA with 35 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Detroit Tigers

On August 2, 2022, Gipson-Long was traded to the

in exchange for Michael Fulmer. He spent the remainder of the year with the Double–A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

, posting a 4.54 ERA with 35 strikeouts in innings of work across 7 starts. Gipson-Long began the 2023 season with Double–A Erie, making 14 appearances (13 starts) and registering a 6–5 record and 3.74 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 65 innings of work. On September 10, 2023, Gipson-Long was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Gipson-Long began the 2024 season on the 15-day injury list with a groin strain. On April 19, 2024, the Tigers announced that Gipson-Long would require

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and would miss the remainder of the 2024 season. He had been rehabbing the groin strain injury when he reported right forearm tightness which was then determined to require the surgery. Gipson-Long underwent an additional surgery, repairing a left hip labral tear, on July 9.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gipson-Long, Sawyer 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Cedar Rapids Kernels players Detroit Tigers players Elizabethton Twins players Erie SeaWolves players Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mercer Bears baseball players People from Lithia Springs, Georgia Toledo Mud Hens players Wichita Wind Surge players