Nick Anderson Elects Free Agency, Reaches Deal With Mariners

11:38am: Anderson is joining Seattle on a minor league deal, as noted by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

7:58am: Right-hander Nick Anderson has reached a deal with the Mariners, according to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It’s a somewhat unusual situation, as Anderson had been on the Rockies’ 40-man roster and pitched in an MLB game as recently as August 27. According to the transactions log on Anderson’s MLB.com profile page, the Rockies optioned Anderson to Triple-A on August 29 and he elected free agency just yesterday. Anderson has enough service time that he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so his departure from the organization might be related to Colorado’s decision to option him earlier this week.

In any case, Anderson now appears to be headed to the Mariners. It’s unclear is his agreement with Seattle is a major or minor league deal, but the Mariners would need to clear a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Anderson if he’s to be added to the roster. The 35-year-old hurler made 12 appearances for the Rockies this season and pitched to an ugly 6.14 ERA, but the vast majority of the damage against him came in a five-run debut outing on July 26. In 11 appearances during the month of August, Anderson posted a more respectable 3.29 ERA, albeit with a 4.95 FIP and a strikeout rate of just 19.2%.

That’s a far cry from what Anderson looked like at his peak effectiveness. The right-hander made his big league debut as a member of the Marlins in 2019 but was traded to the Rays by the end of the year. He was utterly dominant for Tampa in parts of three seasons from 2019 to 2021 with a 1.85 ERA, a 2.42 FIP, and a 42.5% strikeout rate. Elbow injuries limited him to just six innings in 2021 and cost him his entire 2022 campaign, however, and that brought an end to his time with the Rays. Anderson resurfaced as a member of the Braves back in 2023, and while his strikeout rate had dropped to 25.5% he was still a solid late-inning option with a 3.06 ERA and 3.09 FIP across 35 appearances.

The wheels started to come off last year for Anderson. In 49 appearances since the start of the 2024 campaign, he’s posted a lackluster 4.65 ERA and 5.00 FIP. Of course, it should be noted that he’s not gotten consistent MLB work in that time, though his Triple-A numbers don’t exactly inspire confidence either. Still, Anderson has been dominant in the past and is just two years removed from being a quality contributor from the bullpen. Perhaps joining an organization vaunted for its strong pitching staff like Seattle could help Anderson get right and contribute to the Mariners’ bullpen down the stretch this season. Andres Munoz and Matt Brash have the late innings covered for the team, but perhaps Anderson could push someone like Emerson Hancock out of the bullpen and back to Triple-A or even take the expanded roster spot that will open up for the organization tomorrow.