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Shaun Anderson

Angels Re-Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Contract

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The Angels brought back righty Shaun Anderson on another minor league contract, as reflected on the MiLB.com transaction log. The tracker also indicates that the Halos released Buck Farmer and Andrew Vasquez from their minor league deals. Anderson will head to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Anderson has signed three separate minor league deals with the Halos this year. They’ve called him up twice but needed to designate him for assignment to take him off the active roster, as he’s out of options. Anderson elected free agency both times and has returned to the organization on new minor league pacts.

Around the transactions, the 30-year-old Anderson has made six big league relief appearances. He has surrendered nine runs on 16 hits (including a trio of homers) in 10 2/3 innings. He’s been pitching out of the rotation in Salt Lake, allowing 5.74 earned runs per nine through 42 1/3 innings. Anderson has an ERA just under 4.00 in seven Triple-A campaigns but has allowed a 6.20 ERA through 162 2/3 MLB frames.

Farmer and Vasquez each signed with the Angels last month. Farmer allowed 12 earned runs in as many innings for the Bees. Vasquez allowed nine earned across 13 frames with 10 strikeouts and five walks. Neither pitcher has logged any MLB action this year.

Shaun Anderson Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Anderson cleared waivers and elected free agency over an outright assignment to Triple-A, the Angels announced.

JUNE 13: The Angels announced today that they have selected the contract of infield prospect Christian Moore and recalled right-hander Sam Bachman. In corresponding moves, outfielder Matthew Lugo has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and righty Shaun Anderson has been designated for assignment. MLBTR covered the Moore/Lugo swap yesterday. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported today’s full slate of moves prior to the official club announcement.

Anderson, 30, has been on and off the Angels’ roster this year. He signed a minor league deal in the offseason and was called up in early May. He was designated for assignment later that month, cleared waivers, elected free agency, re-signed with the club and was added back to the roster a few days ago. Around those transactions, he has logged 10 2/3 innings over six appearances. He allowed nine earned runs on 16 hits, giving out three walks while striking out ten opponents.

Broadly speaking, Anderson has usually been able to put up decent Triple-A numbers that haven’t translated to the big leagues. He made his major league debut in 2019 and now has 162 2/3 innings under his belt with a 6.20 earned run average. In that same time frame, he has a 3.93 ERA in 307 Triple-A frames. He also spent a season in Korea and put up a 3.76 ERA there.

Since he’s out of options, he can’t be easily sent back down to the minors. The last time he lost his roster spot with the Halos, he cleared waivers and circled back to them, so it’s possible that same sequence will play out in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images

Angels Select Shaun Anderson, Designate Garrett McDaniels For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Shaun Anderson.  Fellow righty José Fermín has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake as the corresponding active roster move.  To open a 40-man spot, left-hander Garrett McDaniels has been reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment.

Anderson has a 6.30 ERA over 10 relief innings for the Halos this season, with most of that damage caused by three home runs allowed during that small sample of work. Los Angeles signed Anderson to a minors contract in February and selected him to the active roster for the first time a month ago, but designated the righty for assignment in the wake of his struggles.

The home run ball has long been an issue for Anderson, who has a 6.11 career ERA in the majors over 162 innings with eight different teams. Despite his lack of production at the big league level, Anderson has consistently kept drawing interest due to his ability to work as a swingman, though he hasn’t gotten much consistent work as a starter since the 2019 season when he pitched for the Giants. There is also a bit of a “quad-A” air to the righty’s career, as Anderson has pitched decently well at the Triple-A level and during a brief stint overseas in the KBO League in 2023.

Anderson will now get a chance to cover some innings and see if he can stick in the L.A. bullpen, with McDaniels the odd man out on the 40-man roster.  McDaniels was a Rule 5 Draft pick out of the Dodgers organization back in December, and his debut season in the majors saw the southpaw post a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings, with more walks allowed (eight) than strikeouts (six).  In fairness to McDaniels, he had only two games of Double-A experience on his resume before being exposed to MLB hitters this season, and he didn’t make his Triple-A debut until this year, while rehabbing from biceps tendinitis.

McDaniels’ Rule 5 status would carry over if another team acquired him via claim or trade during the DFA period, so this new club would also have to carry McDaniels on its active roster for the entire roster in order to fully obtain his rights.  If McDaniels clears waivers, the Angels would have to offer him back to the Dodgers for $50K (i.e. half of the original $100K fee the Angels paid the Dodgers for making the Rule 5 selection).

Angels Re-Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Deal

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Right-hander Shaun Anderson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Angels, briefly elected free agency and quickly re-signed with the Halos on a new minor league pact, per the transaction logs at MiLB.com.

The 30-year-old Anderson pitched 10 innings for the Halos prior to his DFA and was tagged for seven runs on 14 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts. He averaged a pedestrian 92.1 mph on his four-seamer but still notched a hearty 12.2% swinging-strike rate thanks in part to a changeup he’s incorporated into his mix at a career-high rate of usage (23.3%). Anderson entered the season with 152 MLB innings under his belt and had thrown just seven percent changeups in his career (11.5% in 2024). It’s a small sample of innings, but he was also using his changeup more frequently (albeit not to this extent) in Triple-A as well.

Anderson has seen action in parts of six major league seasons and suited up for eight different teams along the way. He’s been hit hard, yielding a 6.11 ERA with a 16.8% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate in 162 MLB frames overall, but teams have continued to give him looks based on a solid Triple-A track record and some appealing traits in his pitches. He’s shown good aptitude for generating spin on both his four-seamer and slider throughout his career, and the 6’6″ righty gets excellent extension on his pitches, which can help his lackluster velocity play up.

Anderson was working as a starter in Salt Lake prior to being called up by the Angels. He’d tossed 37 1/3 innings across seven starts and logged a 5.06 ERA, a 17.6% strikeout rate and a 7.6% walk rate in that time. He worked as a multi-inning reliever with the Angels and saw his pitch count climb as high as 51 in one of his appearances with the Angels, on May 11. He’ll now remain with the Halos and again serve as a versatile depth arm who could come to the majors and help in a variety of roles.

Angels Promote Caden Dana

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The Angels announced this evening that they have designated right-hander Shaun Anderson for assignment. Anderson’s departure would make room for right-hander Caden Dana, who Sam Blum of The Athletic notes is poised to join the club’s bullpen.

Anderson, 30, was a third-round pick by the Red Sox all the way back in 2016 who made his big league debut with the Giants in 2019. He’s pitched parts of six seasons in the majors but has never had much success in doing so. Across 162 innings of work between the Giants, Twins, Orioles, Padres, Blue Jays, Rangers, Marlins, and Angels, the righty has a career 6.11 ERA in the big leagues with a 16.8% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate. He’s also had troubles with the long ball over the years, with 13.5% of his fly balls leaving the yard throughout his career.

It’s a rough profile, though a solid 2023 season in the KBO league where he pitched to a 3.76 ERA across 14 starts for the Kia Tigers offers at least some level of optimism about his ability to get outs at a higher professional level. He also has a 3.86 ERA in 349 1/3 career innings at Triple-A, suggesting he can at least be viable minor league depth for a pitching-needy club. The Angels will have one week to either work out a trade involving Anderson or attempt to pass him through waivers, at which point he would have the option to either accept an outright assignment or test free agency.

As for Dana, the 21-year-old has not yet done much at the big league level across parts of two seasons. He’s posted an 8.78 ERA in 13 1/3 big league innings so far, spread between three starts last year and one multi-inning relief outing earlier this season. Despite those lackluster performances in his brief time in the majors so far, Dana is a consensus top-100 prospect who dominated Double-A pitching last year with a 2.52 ERA across 23 starts (135 2/3 innings of work) with a 27.4% strikeout rate.

It was an extremely impressive showing, though Dana hasn’t been able to keep it up at Triple-A this year. In 38 innings of work across eight starts, he’s posted a 5.21 ERA despite a solid 24.6% strikeout rate. Much of that is surely due to the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, however, and perhaps getting Dana into a more pitching-friendly environment is why the Angels have decided to work to continue the right-hander’s development at the big league level. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a top pitching prospect broke into the majors first as a reliever, with Chris Sale’s early years with the White Sox standing out as perhaps the most noteworthy example.

The competitiveness of the big league club may also be a factor in the club’s aggressive promotion of Dana. After all, the club entered the weekend with an eight-game winning streak that had brought them back up to a .500 record, which puts them just 1.5 games out of playoff position in a weak AL Wild Card field. After a playoff drought that has lasted nearly all of Mike Trout’s career, it makes plenty of sense for the Angels to be aggressive in trying to capitalize on that opportunity. That aggressiveness could include pushing Dana to finish his development in the big league bullpen rather than the Triple-A rotation, where he can get reps against big leaguers in a less hostile environment to pitchers while avoiding the need to build up to a full starter’s workload or pitch a third time through the order.

Angels Select Shaun Anderson, Transfer Ben Joyce To 60-Day IL

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The Angels made several roster moves this afternoon, selecting Shaun Anderson’s contract and recalling Matthew Lugo from Triple-A. To make room on the active roster, they optioned Ryan Johnson to High-A and placed Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list. In addition, they made room for Anderson on the 40-man roster by transferring Ben Joyce to the 60-day IL.

Anderson, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the offseason. From 2019-22, the right-hander threw 135 2/3 innings over 63 games (16 starts) for five different teams: the Giants, Twins, Orioles, Padres, and Blue Jays. He struggled to limit baserunners or to strand them, pitching to a 5.84 ERA and 5.24 SIERA. He then spent the first half of the 2023 campaign as a starter for the Kia Tigers of the KBO. He pitched well, putting up a 3.76 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 14 starts, but lost his job halfway through the season to another former big leaguer, Thomas Pannone. After finishing out 2023 in the Phillies’ minor league system and briefly playing in the Mexican League in early 2024, Anderson returned to the majors, pitching for both the Rangers and Marlins last season. It didn’t go well. He gave up 19 runs (15 earned) over 16 1/3 innings, striking out just 10 of the 85 batters he faced. Nevertheless, the Angels saw something to like in his arm. He has a 5.06 ERA and 5.77 FIP in seven starts at Triple-A this season, and he will presumably offer a bit of depth to a bullpen that has been something of a disaster as of late.

Lugo, 24 today, was added to L.A.’s 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, but this marks his first promotion to the major leagues; he’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets in a game. A second-round pick by the Red Sox in 2019, he was traded to the Angels ahead of the deadline last summer as part of the return for Luis García. Interestingly, he is now the third player from that seemingly minor trade to appear for the Angels, following first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, who is currently in the big league bullpen. Initially an infielder, Lugo started playing the corner outfield in 2023 and ’24 and has exclusively played center field this season. He is struggling at the plate this year, with just a .656 OPS and 66 wRC+, but he showed impressive power last season, posting a .291 isolated power between Double and Triple-A. With Campero injured, he’ll take over as the backup outfielder on the bench.

Campero, 27, made it into just five games for the Angels this season before injuring his ankle during an at-bat. He has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Wednesday, with left ankle inflammation. The fact that the injury has been diagnosed as inflammation seems to be a good sign that Campero won’t miss too much time. While he has a .605 OPS and 71 wRC+ in 18 big league games, he has crushed minor league pitching throughout his career. With Mike Trout on the IL, the Angels are short on outfield depth, so they’ll hope Campero can get back on the field before too long.

Johnson, 22, was yet another prospect the Angels promoted shockingly quickly. The team took him in the second compensatory round of the draft (74th overall) just last summer, and he made his big league debut on Opening Day 2025. There’s no doubt he has promise, as evidenced by his 3.35 SIERA and 3.60 xERA through 14 appearances. However, he has also given up 15 runs (12 earned) on 24 hits, including six runs and nine hits in his last four appearances. There’s no doubt he could benefit from some time in the minor leagues. It’s not every day that you see a player optioned from the big leagues all the way down to High-A, but then again, it’s not every day you see a player debut in the majors before he’s pitched a single game in the minor leagues.

Last but certainly not least is the news about Joyce. The 24-year-old with a triple-digit fastball has not pitched in over a month. In mid-April, he went on the 15-day IL with what the Angels initially believed to be relatively minor shoulder inflammation. The team hasn’t offered an update, but he is now ineligible to return for another month. In other words, no matter what, the word “minor” is no longer an accurate descriptor of his injury. According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Joyce tried to throw earlier in the week, but his shoulder “still didn’t feel right.” He will go for further evaluation next week. The Athletic’s Sam Blum adds that Joyce is “obviously concerned,” though Blum stresses the point that there will not be a formal update until Joyce meets with a doctor. It’s always concerning to hear that a hard-throwing young pitcher has suffered a setback, but the Angels will hope their promising fireman can avoid surgery and get back on the bump later this season.

Angels Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have signed right-hander Shaun Anderson to a minor league deal, according to his MLB.com transactions tracker. The Wasserman client has been assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake but will presumably be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Anderson, 30, is a swingman who made six big league appearances last year between the Rangers and Marlins. He allowed 15 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings, leading to an unsightly 8.27 earned run average. That’s a tiny sample and seems to have been thrown out of shape by a .443 batting average on balls in play and 53.5% strand rate, which were both on the unlucky side. His 4.70 FIP and 4.59 SIERA were far more normal.

His work in Triple-A last year was greater in terms of quality and quantity. He tossed 63 innings over 19 appearances, including nine starts, with an even ERA of 3.00. His 23.4% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate were both strong numbers.

That’s been a pattern for Anderson for a while, as he has generally posted some intriguing numbers on the farm that haven’t translated to the big leagues. Including last year’s small sample of work, he has now thrown 152 big league innings for a 6.10 ERA, with a 16.5% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. But over the past four years, he has logged 226 1/3 minor league innings with a 3.62 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.

The Angels have a lot of rotation options but not a lot of certainty. Yusei Kikuchi will be locked into one spot. Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson seem likely to serve as veteran innings eaters. José Soriano had a good year in 2024 but has a long track record of injuries. Reid Detmers has shown flashes of potential but is coming off a rough year. Guys like Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Chase Silseth and Jack Kochanowicz have some intrigue but limited experience.

The Halos signed Dakota Hudson earlier this offseason for some veteran non-roster depth and now Anderson joins him in that department. Given that Anderson has long relief experience as well, that’s another possible path for him. If he gets up to the big leagues at any point, he’ll face a challenge in hanging onto it since he is out of options.

Marlins Claim Christian Roa

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed right-hander Christian Roa off waivers from the Reds. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com relayed the claim on X prior to the official announcement. The Fish also announced that right-handers Shaun Anderson, Darren McCaughan and Adam Oller as well as infielder/outfielder David Hensley have been outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville. Oller is expected to elect free agency and pursue opportunities in Asia, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X.

Roa, 25, was on Cincinnati’s 60-day injured list but the IL goes away five days after the World Series. Rather than reinstating him to the 40-man roster, the Reds evidently tried to pass him through waivers but the Marlins grabbed him.

The righty was a second-round pick of the Reds and has been a notable prospect in the club’s system since then. He has racked up a fair number of strikeouts as a minor leaguer but also given out a large number of walks. He has thrown 318 2/3 innings in his minor league career with a 4.46 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate.

He was added to Cincinnati’s 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He spent this year pitching in Triple-A with a 5.55 ERA. His walk rate was still high at 13.5% and his strikeouts dropped to a rate of 21.2%. In August, the Reds recalled him to the majors and added him to their 60-day IL with a right shoulder sprain in order to open up a 40-man roster spot.

The Marlins will take a shot on him and see if they can help him rein in that control a bit. Roa still has two more option seasons and less than a year of service time. For a rebuilding club like the Marlins, they can take their time and see if the Roa project can bear some fruit for them down the line.

The four outrighted players were all fairly recent additions to the Miami roster. The club suffered a high number of injuries in 2024 and was often grabbing players from everywhere in order to keep the roster filled as they played out the string on the campaign.

Anderson was designated for assignment by the Rangers at the end of May and got flipped to the Marlins for cash. He posted an 8.27 ERA in 16 1/3 innings for the Fish after that. McCaughan was claimed off waivers from the Guardians in July and went on to throw 36 innings for Miami with a 5.75 ERA. Oller signed a minor league deal with the club in July, later having his contract selected to throw 42 1/3 innings with a 5.31 ERA. Hensley was claimed off waivers from the Astros at the end of July and then hit .212/.293/.288 in 23 games as a Marlin.

The three pitchers have previous career outrights and therefore have the right to elect free agency. This is Hensley’s first outright but she should have the right to elect minor league free agency as a player with seven years on the farm.

Marlins Select Shaun Anderson

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The Marlins announced that they have selected right-hander Shaun Anderson to their roster. Right-hander George Soriano has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move. The club already had a 40-man vacancy.

The Marlins got steamrolled by Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers yesterday, eventually losing 20-4. Six guys took the mound to get through the game, including two position players. They had also used four pitchers on Wednesday and six on Tuesday, leaving the staff fairly taxed.

Anderson, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in April. He had a brief stint on their roster in May and was flipped to the Marlins for cash after being designated for assignment. He spent the next few weeks being frequently shuttled back and forth between the Marlins and the Jumbo Shrimp, though he was outrighted off the 40-man in August.

Between the Marlins and Rangers, he has tossed 14 major league innings this year but allowed 15 earned runs in that time for an unsightly 9.64 ERA. Naturally, his minor league numbers have been better. He’s logged 63 Triple-A innings between the two organizations with a flat 3.00 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Fish are well out of contention but Anderson will give them a fresh arm as they play out the string on the season. He has been optioned four times already this season, meaning he can be optioned down once more before the year is out, if the Marlins need to shake up their pitching staff again in the coming days. He’ll be out of options next year.

Marlins Outright Shaun Anderson

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The Marlins have sent right-hander Shaun Anderson outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency but it’s not clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Anderson, 29, began the year with Olmecas de Tabasco in the Mexican League but made one start of seven shutout innings and quickly landed a minor league deal with the Rangers. After about a month in Triple-A, the Rangers called him up to the big leagues in the middle of May. He was designated for assignment just over a week later and sent to the Marlins for cash.

The righty has largely been kept on optional assignment this year. Between the Rangers and Marlins, he has made five big league appearances, mostly in mop-up fashion. He hasn’t performed especially well in those outings, to put it mildly, allowing 15 earned runs in 14 innings. He hasn’t been helped by a .452 batting average on balls in play or his 48.6% strand rate, but he also only punched out 11.8% of batters faced.

His performance in the minors has been far better. Between the two organizations he has pitched for this year, he has thrown 48 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.42 earned run average, 23.2% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. But that wasn’t enough to get him claimed by one of the other clubs in the league.

Anderson has been previously outrighted in his career, which gives him the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency. If he decides to stay, he’ll provide non-roster depth to a fairly snakebitten Miami rotation. Each of Sandy Alcántara, Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers, Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Sixto Sánchez are on the 60-day injured list, with each of Alcántara, Pérez and Luzardo done for the year.

The rotation is now down to Max Meyer, Edward Cabrera, Roddery Muñoz and Valente Bellozo. The Marlins have a few off-days scattered through the rest of their schedule which could perhaps allow them to run that four-man rotation with occasional bullpen days. They have Adam Mazur, Darren McCaughan and Xzavion Curry on optional assignment and Yonny Chirinos as a non-roster depth option. If Anderson sticks around, he can join Chirinos in the veteran non-roster camp. Anderson has 149 2/3 big league innings of big league experience but with a 6.19 ERA in that time.

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