Alford agreed to a contract with the KT Wiz of the Korean Baseball Organization on Wednesday, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net reports.
Alford joined the Guardians on a minor-league deal in early May after being let go by the Pirates. He had a .609 OPS in eight games for Triple-A Columbus before opting to continue his career in the KBO.
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Guardians' Anthony Alford: Signs with Guardians
Rotowire
Alford signed a minor-league contract with the Guardians on Tuesday.
Alford elected to become a free agent after he was designated for assignment by the Pirates on April 24, and he will now join the Guardians organization and report to Triple-A Columbus. In 49 games in 2021 with the Pirates, Alford posted a .233/.311/.406 slash line with five homers, 11 RBI and five stolen bases. The outfielder has only appeared in two games this season, notching one hit in four at-bats.
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Anthony Alford: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Alford elected free agency Sunday.
Alford was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday after clearing waivers, but he'll choose to become a free agent rather than reporting to the minor-league club. The 27-year-old appeared in 51 games with the Pirates over the last two seasons and slashed .234/.309/.401 with five homers, 14 runs, 11 RBI and five stolen bases.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Clears waivers
Rotowire
Alford cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Alford appeared in just two games after returning from a wrist injury, and he went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. He'll remain in the organization after losing his spot on the 40-man roster and should be an option to provide depth in the outfield for the Pirates at some point.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: DFA'd by Pittsburgh
Rotowire
Alford was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Sunday.
Alford was reinstated from the injured list Friday after missing the first two weeks of the season with a sprained wrist, but he's quickly lost his place on the 40-man and 28-man rosters after going 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first two games. Beau Sulser had his contract selected by the Pirates in a corresponding move.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Hitless in debut
Rotowire
Alford (wrist) went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Friday against the Cubs.
Alford was activated from the injured list Friday, and he hit atop the Pirates' order in his season debut. He struck out in his first two plate appearances prior to fouling out to first base. The Pirates have regularly rotated players through the corner outfield spots early on in the campaign, so Alford will have to perform if he hopes to maintain regular playing time.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Reinstated from 10-day IL
Rotowire
Alford (wrist) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday.
Alford suffered a right wrist sprain late in spring training and was forced to miss the start of the regular season. However, he recently concluded a rehab assignment in which he went 5-for-15 with three homers, a double, six runs, three RBI and a stolen base in five appearances. He should challenge Cole Tucker for regular playing time in right field now that he's healthy.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Moves rehab to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates shifted Alford's (wrist) rehab assignment from Low-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Alford will continue his rehab in Indianapolis after he went 3-for-7 with a home run and a double across his two games with Bradenton. The Pirates will likely want Alford to play in at least two games for Indianapolis as he looks to make up for the at-bats he lost during the spring, but assuming he incurs no setbacks with his right wrist, he could be back from the 10-day injured list at some point over the weekend. Once activated from the IL, Alford should challenge one of Ben Gamel or Cole Tucker for a near-everyday role in the Pittsburgh outfield.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Alford (wrist) will begin a rehab assignment at Low-A Bradenton on Saturday, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Alford has been on the injured list since the start of the regular season after jamming his right hand late in spring training. However, he's been taking swings recently and has now been cleared to return to game action. While a timetable for his return to the majors hasn't been revealed, it's possible that he'll be able to join the Pirates sometime this week.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Nearing game action
Rotowire
Alford (wrist) has been taking swings and is hoping to participate in game action in the near future, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Alford jammed his right hand late in spring training and has been on the injured list to begin the 2022 season. He's made progress since, though the exact plan for his recovery remains unclear. Alford should challenge for regular at-bats in right field upon his return, a position that is currently being occupied by a combination of Hoy Park and Cole Tucker.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Heads to IL
Rotowire
The Pirates placed Alford on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a sprained right wrist, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com repots.
Alford appeared on track to open the season in a regular starting role in the Pittsburgh outfield until he jammed his wrist last week. He hasn't appeared in the Grapefruit League lineup since March 26 and didn't show enough improvement in his recovery for the Pirates to keep him active for Thursday's season opener in St. Louis. With Alford on the mend and Greg Allen (hamstring) set to begin the season on either the 10-day or 60-day IL, Ben Gamel and Cole Tucker look to be the leading candidates for starting roles in Pittsburgh's corner outfield.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Likely to begin season on IL
Rotowire
Alford (hand) was limited to hitting off a tee Saturday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Alford noted that he's been dealing with pain in his right hand throughout the spring, and given that he hasn't resumed taking full swings in live batting practice, he's seemingly trending toward opening the season on the injured list. If Alford is sidelined to begin the campaign, Cole Tucker and Ben Gamel would have clearer paths to reps in the corner outfield.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Dealing with hand injury
Rotowire
Alford jammed his right hand earlier this week and is considered day-to-day, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
It doesn't appear to be a serious injury, though it's unclear if Alford will be able to retake the field before the end of spring training. The 27-year-old is the favorite to start in right field to open the season after hitting .233/.311/.406 with five home runs and five stolen bases over 49 games during 2021.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Three hits in win
Rotowire
Alford went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Friday's 9-2 win over Cincinnati.
All three of the outfielder's hits were singles, and he came around to score during Pittsburgh's eight-run eighth inning. In his last five games, Alford is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. He's up to a .240/.315/.419 slash line with five home runs, 10 RBI, 14 runs scored and five stolen bases through 143 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Collects pair of hits
Rotowire
Alford went 2-for-4 with one run scored in Monday's 13-1 loss to the Reds.
He's hitting .279 with four homers and three steals in 61 September at-bats. Alford hit a pair of homers off Tuesday's starter Alec Mills on Sept. 3. The 27-year-old may have put himself in the organization's plans for 2022 with his recent showing.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Playing time on upswing
Rotowire
Alford will start in left field and bat fifth Wednesday against the Reds.
Alford will collect his fifth start in six games thanks to his recent success at the dish. He'll enter Wednesday's contest on a six-game hitting streak, with the 27-year-old reaching base 50 percent of the time over that span. The Pirates have given him the green light on the basepaths, too, but he's gone just 1-for-4 on steal attempts.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Goes deep against Nats
Rotowire
Alford went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 win over the Nationals.
The homer was his fourth in six September starts. While Alford's prodigious swing-and-miss component remains -- he's compiled a 6:41 BB:K -- he's slashing .259/.295/.569 in 61 plate appearances since returning from Triple-A on Aug. 7. Although Alford is already 27 years of age, his glimpses of brilliant athleticism could put him on a path to another chance in 2022.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Remains out of lineup
Rotowire
Alford isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Alford has gone 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts in his last two appearances and will be out of the lineup for the third time in the last four games. Ben Gamel will shift to left field while Yoshi Tsutsugo starts in right.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Sitting Tuesday
Rotowire
Alford will be on the bench Tuesday against the Tigers.
Alford sits for the second time in three games. Ben Gamel will take over in left field.
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Pirates' Anthony Alford: Day off Sunday
Rotowire
Alford is not in the lineup Sunday against the Cubs, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Alford started the past four games and went 5-for-17 with three homers, five total RBI, four total runs and two stolen bases during that stretch, and he'll take a seat for the series finale at Chicago. Ben Gamel, Bryan Reynolds and Yoshi Tsutsugo will start from left to right in the outfield Sunday.
