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Brett Anderson

Athletics Re-Sign Brett Anderson

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WEDNESDAY: The deal is now official.

TUESDAY: Anderson and the A’s do indeed have an agreement, pending a physical that is slated to take place today, Slusser writes in a full column. ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that if the medicals check out, Anderson will be guaranteed $1.5MM and can make another $1MM via incentives.

MONDAY: The Athletics are nearing a contract with lefty Brett Anderson, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). Anderson himself tweeted this evening (without divulging the team) that he’s preparing for a physical tomorrow, so that may be all that remains before the agreement is finalized.

It’ll be a MLB deal for Anderson, a client of The Legacy Agency. Financial terms remain unknown at this time.

There have been quite a few ups and downs over the years for the southpaw, who is now 31 years of age. Once a highly promising young hurler in Oakland, Anderson has often been effective on the mound but has dealt with countless injuries, particularly to his back. All told, he has made about half of the starts he might have over his decade in the majors.

Last year came with a typical blend of positives and setbacks. Anderson dominated at Triple-A to earn his way back to the A’s staff, missed some time with a shoulder injury, and ultimately turned in 80 1/3 innings of 4.48 ERA ball over 17 starts in the big leagues.

As usual, Anderson turned in underwhelming strikeout numbers, with just 5.3 per nine in 2018. He made up for that by drawing grounders on 55.6% of the balls opposing hitters put in play, his highest rate since his last full season of 2015, and by allowing a personal-low 1.5 walks per nine. Statcast actually felt Anderson was a bit unfortunate, as it valued him with a .338 wOBA-against but a .318 xwOBA-against. ERA estimators valued Anderson as a solid back-of-the-rotation performer (4.17 FIP, 3.91 xFIP, 4.13 SIERA).

There’s a lot to like about that profile on a low-cost, low-risk deal. Clearly, there isn’t much appetite around the game for promising multiple seasons to Anderson, given his health history. But for an Oakland org that is still looking to fill out a decent rotation on the cheap, it’s easy to see the appeal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

8 Low-Cost Rotation Depth Options

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We ran through some of the remaining sources of offensive power yesterday. Today, we’ll do the same for rotation pieces. There are not all that many established starters left on the market, but there are still a handful who stand out as plausible candidates to gobble up some frames without costing much for an acquiring team. (Jeremy Hellickson would’ve been included here had he not agreed to terms with the Nats this morning.) As before, we’ll be ignoring those players who MLBTR predicted to secure multi-year deals entering the winter (e.g. Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez).

Presented in order of 2018 innings pitched…

James Shields: He topped 200 frames for the tenth time in 2018, so teams looking for volume will have to place Shields on the top of their value list. True, the results (4.53 ERA) and peripherals (6.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9, 35.2% GB rate) weren’t exciting, but Shields is also a respected staff member who’d be valued for his positive influence on teammates. For the right organization, he’s a viable innings eater.

Bartolo Colon: Yep, he’s back — or at least he hopes to be. Home runs were a big problem last year for Big Sexy, but he still racked up 146 1/3 frames on the year for the Rangers. As with Shields, there won’t likely be much interest from contenders, but other teams that are thin on upper-level pitching depth could look to Colon as a cheap source of innings.

Clay Buchholz: It’s quite a different story for the 34-year-old Buchholz, who had a nice turnaround campaign before it was cut short by yet another injury. Organizations that are interested in building waves of talented arms, whether or not they come with health concerns, will certainly be intrigued by Buchholz, even if his peripherals (7.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9, 42.6% GB rate) didn’t quite support the sparkling 2.01 ERA he carried through 98 1/3 innings last year in Arizona.

Yovani Gallardo: Though he made it through 94 1/3 innings, the outcomes weren’t pretty for Gallardo. Memories of his days as a sturdy mid-rotation starter are long faded, though perhaps there’s reason to believe in at least some amount of positive regression. Gallardo’s 6.39 ERA in 2018 was caused in some part by a low 64.5% strand rate. Of course, ERA estimators still valued his contributions in the low-5.00 realm, so there’s not a ton of room for optimism.

Edwin Jackson: Jackson ran up a productive ERA in about a half-season of work as a key member of Oakland’s patchwork rotation. But the spread in this case between his ERA (3.33) and ERA estimators (4.65 FIP, 4.88 xFIP, 4.98 SIERA) is significant. Jackson is still averaging better than 93 mph on his heater, but he likely won’t benefit again from a .240 batting average on balls in play from opposing hitters.

Brett Anderson: Some will be surprised to learn that Anderson only celebrated his 31st birthday earlier this month. The lefty debuted as a 21-year-old and has had a tumultuous career, but he put forth a solid effort in 80 1/3 frames with the A’s in ’18. Anderson registered a 55.6 percent grounder rate and notched a career-best 1.46 BB/9. He doesn’t miss many bats and has a long injury history, but the southpaw’s knack for keeping the ball on the ground and his typically low walk rates could be appealing for a team seeking depth rather than a candidate to make 30 starts.

Doug Fister: A knee injury wrecked Fister’s 2018 season, but the righty displayed his typical penchant for keeping the ball on the ground (50.4 percent) and avoiding free passes (2.5 BB/9). Fister managed a 4.50 ERA in 66 innings — nearly half of which came at the launching pad that is Globe Life Park in Arlington. It’s an extraordinarily small sample, to be sure, but the righty did notch a 2.82 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 35 2/3 innings on the road. As far as depth options go, clubs could do far worse than the 35-year-old veteran.

Ervin Santana: Only 10 pitchers threw more innings than Santana between the 2016-17 seasons, but an injured tendon in his pitching hand that required surgery last offseason more or less wiped out his entire 2018 campaign. It’s perhaps heartening that the injury wasn’t specific to the his elbow or shoulder. Santana’s results in 24 2/3 innings were awful (22 runs on 31 hits and nine walks), though it’s unlikely that he was healthy when on the hill. He may be 36 now, but Santana posted a combined 3.52 ERA in 907 2/3 frames from 2013-17. If his hand is healed up, he could be the best bet for a productive season on this list.

Quick Hits: Boras, “Swellopts,” Anderson, A’s, Pence

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Over the last two offseasons, the Boras Corporation has negotiated innovative contracts for clients Zach Britton, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jake Arrieta that involved a dual-option year between the player and the team.  In all three deals, the club can exercise a longer-term option over the player, or decline that option, which gives the player the chance to either enact an opt-out clause or (in Kikuchi’s case) to add another player option season.  Scott Boras, never at a loss for colorful phrasing, describes this type of contract as a “swellopt,” as the agent tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  “For the club, if the player performs well, the club can opt in (contract swells). For the player, if the club doesn’t opt in, the player has the choice to continue with contract (swell) or opt out. It’s a swell option for both,” Boras explained.  This type of contract structure could end up being more commonly used around baseball, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post details how teams in the hunt for Bryce Harper (another Boras client) or Manny Machado could deploy the “swellopt” to land on a favorable contract for both sides.

Some more from around the baseball world…

  • The Athletics have been in touch with Brett Anderson about a possible reunion in 2019, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Ben Ross writes.  Multiple other teams have also shown interest in Anderson, so it isn’t certain if the veteran left-hander will have to settle for another minor league contract or if he’ll be able to land a Major League deal.  Pitching for the A’s on a minors pact in 2018, Anderson delivered his typical low-strikeout, high-grounder performance, posting a 4.48 ERA, 3.62 K/BB rate, 5.27 K/9, and 55.6% grounder rate over 80 1/3 innings.  Anderson’s season was shortened by two DL stints due to shoulder issues and a forearm strain, and these latest entries to the southpaw’s lengthy injury history could also certainly impact his chances at a guaranteed MLB contract.  Anderson would hardly be a sure thing for the A’s, though the team is looking for all the rotation depth it can muster given the inexperience and injury-related question marks surrounding most of the names on the rotation depth chart.
  • Hunter Pence has received “several” offers from teams, the outfielder tells El Nuevo Diario’s Angel Luis Mercedes (hat tip to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle).  After a pair of down years, Pence is attempting to trigger a late-career rebound in his typical unique fashion, by attempting to overhaul his swing while playing in the Dominican Winter League.  Given Pence’s lack of success in 2017-18, Shea figures the veteran’s offers are of the minor league variety, as teams will give Pence a look in Spring Training to see if his new swing holds any promise.

AL West Notes: Astros, Athletics, Rangers, Colon

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A forearm strain has kept Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. out of action since Aug. 4, but he’s progressing toward a return. McCullers threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday, saying afterward (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that it represented “a big step,” even though he didn’t throw any curveballs. The plan is for McCullers to mix in his famous curve during his next bullpen session, which is scheduled for Wednesday. If that goes well, there may be a clearer picture regarding a potential return date for McCullers, whom the Astros are likely to use in relief when he does come back.

  • More from Rome, who delves into the surprising struggles of Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. The 23-year-old has been woeful since Aug. 10, when he returned from an almost two-month layoff. Correa was on the shelf with a lower back injury, and he revealed Saturday that his back has occasionally been a problem since he came off the DL, noting that “it’s just been hard to get in a rhythm.” Correa doesn’t want to use his back as an excuse for his slump, Rome writes, but he admitted that “it definitely has played a role in the way my swing has changed a little bit and some of the bad habits I’ve acquired.” When he went on the DL, Correa was sitting on a .265/.351/.474 batting line. He’s now at .242/.326/.415 – good for an 84-point drop in his OPS.
  • Athletics southpaw Brett Anderson is nearing a return from a forearm strain, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Anderson, who has been out since Aug. 28, may rejoin the A’s rotation as early as Wednesday or Thursday, Slusser reports, as the 30-year-old offered an encouraging assessment after a bullpen session Saturday. His absence, not to mention those of other injured A’s starters (including Sean Manaea), has helped steer the playoff contenders toward incorporating more bullpen games. But once Anderson returns, Oakland may cut down on those, Slusser writes.
  • In an effort to evaluate their younger players, the Rangers are removing right-hander Bartolo Colon from their rotation in favor of fellow righty Adrian Sampson, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports. Unless Texas plugs Colon back into its rotation within the next few weeks, it’s fair to wonder whether the 45-year-old has made his last major league start. Colon wants to pitch in 2019, but whether he’ll draw much interest in the offseason is in question. The estimable Colon’s effectiveness has evaporated dating back to last season, including during his 144 1/3 innings with the Rangers this year. Across 26 appearances and 24 starts, he has posted a 5.55 ERA/5.31 FIP. As a result, he may be in line to finish 2018 (and perhaps his career) as a reliever.

Latest On Athletics’ Rotation

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The Athletics have lost a pair of rotation pieces in the past three days, placing lefties Sean Manaea (3.59 ERA, 160 2/3 innings) and Brett Anderson (4.02 ERA, 65 innings) on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury and a forearm strain, respectively. Since being placed on the DL on Sunday, Manaea has been determined to be suffering from tendinitis in his rotator cuff, manager Bob Melvin told reporters today (Twitter links via Jane Lee of MLB.com). He’s been shut down from throwing, and the A’s aren’t certain yet whether he’ll pitch again in 2018. Meanwhile, Anderson is set to undergo additional testing to evaluate his injury.

However, despite that pair of notable losses, the A’s aren’t likely to make a trade for a starter in advance of Friday’s deadline for postseason eligibility, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. If there was any doubt based on that report, Oakland general manager David Forst went on record with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and, while he didn’t expressly rule out an addition, he characterized any such move as decidedly unlikely.

“We said when got Mike Fiers and Fernando Rodney how lucky we were that guys like that were available and we were able to make the deals,” said Forst. “And I don’t know if there is anything available outside the organization that can help us at this time.”

A look at the list of players known to have cleared revocable trade waivers reveals names such as Gio Gonzalez, Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner, Francisco Liriano and Jordan Zimmermann as options to be freely traded. All five of those hurlers have under-performed to varying extents in 2018, and Cobb, Casnher and Zimmermann each come with undesirable contractual obligations beyond the current season. It’s possible, of course, that other arms have cleared or are currently on revocable trade waivers, but it doesn’t sound as though Forst and the A’s are keen on adding from outside the organization based on what’s currently available.

Internal options are the preferred route, it seems, but Forst made clear that top prospect Jesus Luzardo won’t be called upon to step into the starting mix. The 20-year-old Luzardo is among the game’s most highly regarded prospects, but he’s two and a half years removed from Tommy John surgery (March 2016) and has already seen an increase from 43 1/3 innings in 2017 to 109 1/3 innings in 2018. He’s made a rapid ascent to Triple-A, but his workload and importance to the Athletics’ long-term outlook are both understandable reasons for the Oakland brass to have some trepidation when weighing a potential promotion for Luzardo.

Forst indicated to Slusser that expanded September rosters could allow the A’s to utilize a bullpen-heavy approach to patching together the pitching staff. The Rays have already aggressively employed a bullpen-forward tactic in 2018, using relievers as “openers” and frequently leaning on bullpen days in lieu of a more traditional starting rotation. Such an arrangement is one of multiple approaches the A’s could contemplate when plotting out the remainder of the season. Relievers Yusmeiro Petit, Lou Trivino and Emilio Pagan are already accustomed to recording more than three outs per appearance.

[Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart]

For the time being, Oakland will plug right-handers Frankie Montas and Daniel Mengden into a starting staff that also includes Fiers, Trevor Cahill and Edwin Jackson. Chris Bassitt is the lone remaining healthy option on the 40-man roster, as the Athletics’ depth has been ravaged by injuries in 2018. Right-handers Kendall Graveman, Daniel Gossett and Jharel Cotton have all undergone Tommy John surgery, as has top left-handed pitching prospect A.J. Puk. Meanwhile, Andrew Triggs is on the 60-day DL due to a nerve injury, while Paul Blackburn has missed the past month-plus due to elbow issues.

Athletics Place Brett Anderson On 10-Day DL

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The Athletics’ recent pitching injury woes continue, as the club announced today that lefty Brett Anderson has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a forearm strain. He joins fellow southpaw starter Sean Manaea on the shelf at an inopportune moment.

Oakland has turned in a remarkable surge, in no small part due to the unexpected contributions of several veteran hurlers. Anderson has certainly been among them, turning in 65 innings of 4.02 ERA pitching over 13 starts while earning just $1.5MM on the year.

The outlook for the lefty isn’t clear, but it’s always worrisome to hear of forearm problems. Anderson’s health history certainly doesn’t leave much room for optimism, though his back — not his arm — has typically been the culprit.

For the time being, righty Ryan Dull will come up to take the open spot on the roster. But the Athletics now seem to have an innings gap that will somehow need to be filled. Daniel Mengden is perhaps the top internal option, with Frankie Monts and Chris Bassitt also representing 40-man possibilities, but there are still a few days left to look outside the organization.

AL West Notes: M’s, Cano, Cruz, A’s, Astros, Tucker

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Speaking with reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) on Saturday, Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano was apologetic about the 80-game suspension he has been serving since mid-May. Cano tested positive for Furosemide, which is a diuretic that masks the effects of PEDs, though he suggested that he didn’t knowingly take a banned substance. “The city of Seattle has become my second home for my family and I. I’m grateful to the organization, my teammates and the fans and as you guys know, I’ve been getting tested for the last 12 seasons and I’ve never had an issue with MLB policy,” Cano said. “I was being treated for some medical ailments and I was being supervised by a doctor. But at the same time, I understand that everything that goes into my body, I’m responsible for that.”

Because the Mariners (56-34) have been on a roll without Cano, who’s eligible to return Aug. 14 but ineligible for postseason play, it’s unclear whether he’ll man second base again when he comes back. Dee Gordon has moved from center field to second in Cano’s absence, and it’s possible the Mariners will keep Gordon at the keystone through season’s end. Asked if he’d be on board with shifting positions upon his return, Cano noted, “I haven’t talked to (general manager) Jerry (Dipoto) yet, but I would do anything for the team.” Should Gordon remain at second, the 35-year-old Cano could head to first, where Ryon Healy has only offered league-average offense this season.

Here’s more on Seattle and two other playoff hopefuls from the AL West:

  • Thanks in part to the presences of Gordon and Healy, not to mention Cano’s age, he may have to move to designated hitter as early as next year, Bob Condotta of KLAY 1180 AM writes. The Mariners have Nelson Cruz at DH now, but he’ll be a free agent after the season. While Cruz is having yet another outstanding campaign at the plate, he’s unlikely to land an overly long or expensive contract considering his age (38) and inability to contribute on defense, Condotta posits. As such, whether the Mariners re-sign Cruz may hinge more on roster flexibility than whether they’re interested in meeting his asking price. Bringing Cruz back would affect not only the DH situation in Seattle, but also the team’s infield and outfield pictures, as Condotta explains in his piece.
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve reinstated left-hander Brett Anderson from the 10-day disabled list and placed righty Paul Blackburn on the 10-day DL (retroactive to Saturday) with right elbow lateral epicondylitis. Anderson missed nearly two months with a left shoulder strain, adding to a long list of injuries in the 30-year-old’s career. He struggled in 15 1/3 innings before hitting the shelf, yielding 13 earned runs on 25 hits. Blackburn has endured a similarly poor season in the run prevention department (7.16 ERA in 27 2/3 frames), though ERA estimators FIP (3.56), xFIP (4.33) and SIERA (4.37) suggest he has deserved far better. It’s unclear how much time Blackburn could miss, but the location of his injury is alarming – especially considering he sat out all of April and May with a right forearm strain. Swapping Anderson for Blackburn will continue to leave the A’s with more than a full rotation’s worth of starters on the DL (depth chart).
  • The three weeks leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline will serve as a left field audition for Astros prospect Kyle Tucker, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says. If the just-promoted Tucker doesn’t look ready to contribute on a regular basis, the Astros will “likely” look to acquire a veteran stopgap, according to Rosenthal, who points out that left field has not been an area of strength for their offense this season. Tucker, 21, made his Astros debut Saturday and went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts and a walk.

Injury Notes: Anderson, Lamb, Giants, Shoemaker

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The A’s announced this morning that Brett Anderson has been placed on the 10-day DL with a left shoulder strain. Anderson was removed from yesterday’s game before the second inning even began. He’d had an ugly showing so far this season at the MLB level, pitching to a 7.63 ERA with just eight strikeouts across four starts. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, it’s the 11th time in the 30-year-old lefty’s career that he’s gone on the disabled list. Anderson has only pitched more than 100 innings once in the past eight seasons; it was a 2015 campaign with the Dodgers in which he worked to a 3.69 ERA and 3.94 FIP. In a corresponding move, the A’s have recalled Ryan Dull, who was technically optioned to Triple-A Nashville yesterday but never left Toronto.

Other injury notes from around baseball…

  • Yesterday, the Diamondbacks officially announced the activation of slugging third baseman Jake Lamb from the disabled list. After hitting the 10-day DL with a sprained right AC joint and subsequently having his return delayed by elbow tendinitis, has finally completed a rehab assignment and is ready to return. It’s a welcome sight for the Diamondbacks, who recently lost team WAR leader A.J. Pollock to the DL. They’ll hope Lamb can repeat the 30-homer power he showed last year and help propel an offense that currently ranks 27th of 30 MLB teams with a wRC+ of just 83.
  • Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports provides a pair Giants injury updates via Twitter. Joe Panik is reportedly doing well in his recovery from left thumb surgery, and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as the end of this month. Meanwhile, Mac Williamson served as a DH in Triple-A last night. None of the rehabbing Giants, however, will be called upon at the major league level for at least another week, a group that includes rookie Alen Hanson and veteran outfielder Hunter Pence.
  • There’s still no real answer to the nerve issue in Matt Shoemaker’s forearm, according to Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. The Angels right-hander reportedly visited a specialist in St. Louis earlier this week, and the next move in his recovery isn’t quite clear at this time. The oft-injured Shoemaker landed on the DL after just one start this season; he allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out four.

Athletics Select Contract Of Brett Anderson

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TODAY: Oakland has indeed selected Anderson’s contract. Righty Emilio Pagan was optioned to create roster space.

YESTERDAY: Brett Anderson arrived in the Athletics’ clubhouse on Tuesday night and is expected to start for Oakland tomorrow in place of recently demoted Opening Day starter Kendall Graveman, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s will have to formally select Anderson’s contract beforehand, though they have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move to accommodate him.

The news means that for the first time in seven years, the Athletics’ rotation will feature both Anderson and Trevor Cahill — two now-30-year-old pitchers who were once viewed as potential building blocks for the A’s. Over a span of two years, however, Oakland traded both pitchers in separate deals that netted Jarrod Parker, Drew Pomeranz, Ryan Cook, Collin Cowgill and Chris Jensen.

Since he last suited up for the A’s, Anderson has appeared for the Rockies, Dodgers, Cubs and Blue Jays at the big league level, at times functioning as a decidedly above-average starter but also dealing with myriad back injuries in addition to blister issues and a broken finger on his pitching hand. In the four seasons since he was traded Anderson has pitched a total of 290 1/3 innings — the vast majority of which came with the 2015 Dodgers (180 1/3 innings, 3.69 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 66.3 percent ground-ball rate).

[Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart]

As Shea notes, Anderson had an opt-out provision in his contract, which likely contributed to the decision to bring him back to the big league level. However, one could hardly argue that Anderson didn’t earn the promotion based on merit, either; in four starts and 19 innings thus far with Triple-A Nashville, he’s surrendered four earned runs (1.89 ERA) on 17 hits and two walks with 25 strikeouts and a 65.2 percent grounder rate. He’ll join Cahill, Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden and Andrew Triggs in Oakland’s rotation for the time being.

Athletics Agree To Terms With Brett Anderson

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The Athletics have agreed to a contract with veteran lefty Brett Anderson, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a minors deal, but other terms are not yet known.

If the deal becomes official, Anderson will return to the place where he first broke into the majors back in 2009. He turned in strong efforts for Oakland for parts of five seasons, working to a cumulative 3.81 ERA over 450 2/3 innings. Of course, that only worked out to about ninety frames per season, as Anderson dealt with a variety of injuries.

Anderson has had his successes since leaving the A’s, as well. In particular, he turned in a strong effort in 2015 for the Dodgers, making over thirty starts for the first time since his rookie year and finishing with a 3.69 ERA over 180 1/3 frames. That earned Anderson a qualifying offer, which he accepted for the ensuing season.

Unfortunately, Anderson has been neither healthy nor effective since that point. The 2016 season was mostly lost to back surgery. And Anderson limped to a 6.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings last year after landing with the Cubs on a make-good contract.

There are still some signs of hope, however. Anderson is still just 30 years of age. Last year, he still managed fairly typical fastball velocity, posted an 8.8% swinging-strike rate that was the second highest of his career, and generated a typically solid 49.2% groundball rate. Anderson also may have suffered from some poor fortune with a .364 BABIP and 60.9% strand rate, though Statcast felt the results largely matched expectations based upon the quality of contact he surrendered.

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