Chicago Cubs: Brett Anderson an Option with Tyson Ross off the Table?

Will the Chicago Cubs now look to Brett Anderson for starting pitching depth?

Once seemingly the obvious favorites, the Chicago Cubs have missed out on starting pitcher Tyson Ross, as he has signed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers. The Cubs showed a lot of interest in Ross and were undoubtedly in the mix, but appeared to want to sign him to a two-year contract.

Ross taking a one-year deal with the Rangers gives him a season to prove himself healthy before getting right back on the open market. If Ross has a good, healthy year with the Rangers, he will be in line for a nice payday.

I do not blame Ross for betting on himself and I do not blame the Cubs for not wanting to risk signing Ross to a one-year contract and he never gets on the field. That being said, starting pitching depth is an issue for this team.

The Cubs have a rock solid front four in their rotation. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are all reliable starters who form an impressive top four of a starting rotation. That being said, there is little depth to speak of behind them.

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Mike Montgomery is the favorite to land the fifth starter job. Montgomery is a talented pitcher who has a lot of upside both in 2017 and going forward. However, he is far from a sure thing. Also, if any of their starters get hurt, more unproven pitchers like Rob Zastrryzny, Aaron Brooks or Pierce Johnson will have to get the call.

The Cubs do not need to add an ace level pitcher, but they could certainly use some starting pitching depth. The free agent market is extremely thin at this time of year, but after missing out on one injury risk, I could see the Cubs going after another in Brett Anderson.

A left-handed starter who has had some big league success, Anderson has always struggled with injuries. Anderson had arm issues early in his career, including under-going Tommy John surgery in 2011 that made him miss most of that season and even more of 2012.

Anderson has also had serious foot and back issues that have caused him to miss time over the years, including a back injury that kept him out of the entire 2016 season besides 11.1 innings. Simply put, besides a couple of rare cases, Anderson has not been able to stay on the field.

The injuries have undoubtedly hurt Anderson’s career, almost to the point that he may not have many more chances left. That being said, I would not mind seeing the Cubs take a chance on him.

Anderson has always shown a lot of upside on the mound, mixing in an impressive five-pitch repertoire with consistency. Anderson has typically thrown in the low 90s, with a strong sinker that allows him to get a lot of ground ball outs and two different styles of breaking balls.

While the injuries cast a great unknown over what he looks like as a pitcher right now, I was always a fan of what Anderson could do on the mound. He shows strong command over his pitches and changes speeds and direction extremely well. Anderson is a good pitcher as opposed to a guy who just throws.

When it comes down to it, the Cubs need more starting pitching depth. Anderson is not exactly a guy who they can count on, but he does bring some nice upside to the table. Considering there has been little to no discussion about him in free agency, I expect that he could be had on the cheap. I see nothing wrong with the Cubs offering him a one-year deal worth around $3-5 million.

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Signing Anderson would give them an opportunity to trot out their six-man rotation to start the season and would give them security from injuries or poor performance out of a starting pitcher.

With nothing to lose, I would love to see the Chicago Cubs take a shot on the upside of Brett Anderson.

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Chicago Cubs: Brett Anderson a Free Agent Option with Tyson Ross off the Table?

By Dan Schmelzer | Jan 14, 2017

Will the Chicago Cubs now look to Brett Anderson for starting pitching depth?