Phillies
Phillies Bargain Shopping: Making a Case for Brett Anderson
Published20 Jan 2018
By Matt Noskow, Sports Talk Philly staff 
Due to the painfully slow market and the trade market also hitting a snag, the Philadelphia Phillies, who are still are in the market for starting pitching, might be looking for a bargain free-agent. While many would like to see them make a play for pitchers like Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, or even Jake Arrieta (on a short-term deal), there are other veteran pitchers that could sign a one-year deal and compete for a spot in the Phillies rotation this upcoming season.
A name that could make sense here is Brett Anderson. Anderson is coming off a tale of two seasons last year, the once-promising starting pitcher could be an intriguing fit with Phillies.
Anderson, who has pitched in the Majors since 2009, has had an injury-riddled career, to say the least. In his first year with Oakland, Anderson posted an 11-11 record with a 4.06 ERA over 175.1 innings pitched. After having Tommy John surgery in 2011 he left Oakland and pitched for Colorado. During his time with these two clubs, injuries continued to follow Anderson, as he had various issues with a foot fracture and the breaking of one of his fingers.
In 2014, however, a back injury, which has followed Anderson, ended his season. His last season in Colorado ended with lower back surgery.
Anderson finally saw a rebound season in 2015 with the Dodgers. That year, he regained his form tossing 180.1 innings for a record of 10-9 with a 3.69 ERA. That year he never had a stint on the DL and was fully healthy for the first time since his rookie year. The next year in 2016 however, his luck quickly faded as he was placed on the DL with a bulging disc in his back. He went from pitching in 31 games the year prior to only pitching in four games total and his ERA spiked to 11.91.
Throughout his career, Anderson, hasn’t pitched more than 100 innings three times in his career the most recent was the before mentioned 2015 season. Last season Anderson found himself starting the year with the Cubs. He only to pitched in six games before being placed on the 60-day DL in June due to a lower back strain. A month earlier, the Cubs reported he was having issues with his back and continued to throw him out there. His numbers in April and May in four games were 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA and after the report of back pain in May his numbers spiked in two games as he lost both outings with ERA of 64.80 (not joking) for the month.
When he was activated in late July, he was released by the Cubs five days later. He was then picked up by the Blue Jays after two weeks on the free agent market to a minor league deal. In what was essentially a free-agent audition with Blue Jays, Anderson found himself.
As a potential low-risk, high upside signing, Anderson could build off a second half last year in Toronto where he rebounded after a horrific start to the season with the Cubs. In August and September, Anderson looked very solid for Toronto. After watching his first game back in the majors with the Blue Jays, he had an excellent pace and command of his pitches. He worked extremely hard for 5.2 innings against the Red Sox in a pitching match up against Chris Sale. If it was not for a poor defensive play behind him, he would have made it a quality start. His other starts were fairly good, minus one where was hit really hard and left the game after 1.1 innings, which is highlighted below.
From the table above, one can infer that Anderson came back healthy providing solid starts for the better part of a month plus for Toronto. The key here is Anderson provided his team a chance to win, exiting games either ahead, tied, or down one run, with the exception of one game. If this sample shows anything, it is that Anderson was a reliable option during his short time in Toronto.
For his career, Anderson also has interesting numbers that compare well to other active starters in the majors:
Of these pitchers, Anderson remains the only one that is not on a team. Corbin is on the last year of his contract with Arizona and has been sought after this offseason in trades. Mike Fiers and Mike Minor signed contracts this off-season with Detroit for a one-year at $6 million and Texas for four years and $28 million, respectively. Health is going to be the bottom line when it comes to Anderson getting a contract offer. But, again, if he can produce similar numbers to the second half of last year he would be a decent option to have in a rotation for much less of a cost then the pitchers above.
Adding a starter that could give five or six quality innings on low risk deal could bode well for the Phillies. Also, the fact that he is a left-handed starter could provide a change of pace in a rotation that has been right-handed dominate the past few seasons. In addition, he will not break the bank and could provide competition this spring for the young guys in the current rotation. A case could be made for other free-agent bargains but, Anderson’s play in the second half of last season should warrant consideration for a contract this season.
In years past the Phillies taken chances on starters like Clay Buchholz and Charlie Morton. While both got hurt after making appearances with the club, Morton has at least proven his value to another team as he helped the Houston Astros win the World Series this past year. Anderson’s back issue has been reoccurring but, as previously stated, when he is not hindered by his back, he has been an effective starter. The Phillies have no guarantee that he will stay healthy for an entire season. However, they are in a position where if they do not feel confident in the top-end or even middle-tier arms of this free-agent class, they have to be willing to take chances on guys like Anderson to see if they can get real value out of them.
