Brett Anderson a Great Depth Signing with Upside for Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have reportedly signed a left-handed pitcher who could make a huge impact in 2017.
With depth being an issue in the starting rotation, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly signed left-hander Brett Anderson to a one-year deal. The Cubs have not made the move offical, but it was first reported by Ken Rosenthal, pending a physical. So, assuming he passes the physical, you can take it to the bank.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports later added the details of the potential deal.
Source: Brett Anderson's deal with the Chicago Cubs is for $3.5M, should he pass his physical. Incentives can take it up to $10M.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 24, 2017
The Cubs have a strong front of their starting rotation. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta is arguably the best 1,2,3 in all of baseball. They also have solid veteran John Lackey who they can count on in the four hole. However, besides that there are a lot of question marks.
Mike Montgomery is currently the odds on favorite to be the Cubs’ fifth starter. Montgomery was nails for the Cubs as both a starter and relief pitcher last year. He certainly has some upside, but he is far from a sure-thing. Before adding Anderson to the mix, the Cubs were looking at guys like Rob Zastryzny, Aaron Brooks, Jake Buchanan and Pierce Johnson for depth. Simply put, they need to add another solid option or too.
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Anderson is a former top prospect who has great upside in the rotation. He is an extreme ground ball pitcher who has a career ERA 3.86 and 3.70 FIP. Anderson has always struggled mightily with injuries, and is coming off of a year where he only make four appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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However, you only have to look back to 2015 to see when Anderson was last effective as a full-time starter. In the 2015 season with the Dodgers, Anderson made 31 starts (180.1 innings pitched) and had an ERA of 3.69. He is not a threat to unseat the top guys in the rotation, but Anderson is a strong depth addition with some upside.
With the Cubs’ elite infield defense, it is easy to see Anderson having success on the North Side. He has a ground-ball rate of over 58% percent, which is well above the league average of 44%. Anderson is a ground-ball pitcher in the truest sense and I imagine that is a huge reason why he was appealing to the Cubs.
If Anderson can stay healthy in 2017, I could see the Cubs going with a six-man rotation for a majority of the year. Regardless, the Cubs are not counting on Anderson to be a huge contributor. If he can eat some innings during the season, and perhaps go down and help in the bullpen when needed, they are going to get great bang for their buck.
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The Chicago Cubs were extremely lucky when it came to pitcher injuries last season. They cannot count on that happening again, especially coming off of a long post-season run. Having a guy like Anderson around is necessary.