Phillies Add Another Pitcher to their Potential Rotation
The Phillies added yet another pitcher to their offseason haul when they signed former Blue Jays RHP Chase Anderson. No financial terms of the deal have been released as Anderson still has to pass his routine physical.
Anderson became a free agent this offseason after the Blue Jays declined his $9.5 million option for 2021, instead opting to buy him out for $500,000. Anderson really struggled in the shortened 2020 season posting a 7.22 ERA in just 33 innings.
This is potentially a great signing for the Phillies. Before his nightmare 2020 season, Anderson had been a productive pitcher in each of the previous six seasons with Milwaukee and Arizona. In every one of those six seasons he produced positive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and pitched over 110 innings.
His best season came in 2017 when he went 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA over 141 innings for the Brewers.
If Anderson is able to revert back to his mean in 2021, he could easily slide into the #4 rotation spot ahead of Spencer Howard, Vince Velasquez or the recently acquired Matt Moore. I am in full support of taking fliers on pitchers with starters pedigree as their performance can vary wildly year to year.
I can only imagine how difficult last season was for any member of the Blue Jays. They were essentially playing the entire season on the road as Covid-19 prevented them from re-entering Canada. Instead they played their homes games in a AAA ballpark in Buffalo while never seeing their families. For this reason Anderson’s 2020 season should be looked at as an outlier rather than a future trend.
The Phillies have been desperately looking for someone to solidify the back end of their rotation for multiple seasons without any success. I believe Anderson is a step in the right direction.
The Liberty Line will keep you updated on the financials as soon as we receive news.
*Update: The Phillies and Chase Anderson contract is a one-year, $4 million agreement.*
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[…] and Zach Eflin leading he way. In the past few weeks the front office has signed Matt Moore and Chase Anderson to team friendly one-year deals with the hope that both will rekindle previous success and bring […]