Journeyman Starting Pitcher Chase Anderson Earns Non-Roster Invite From Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed starting pitcher Chase Anderson to a minor league contract, FanSided's Robert Murray reported Saturday morning.
Anderson earned an invite to Pittsburgh's big league Spring Training camp as part of the deal, per Murray.
The 36-year-old right-hander started last season with the Tampa Bay Rays, but he spent most of the year with the Colorado Rockies. He went 1-6 with a 5.42 ERA, 1.425 WHIP and 0.7 WAR across 17 starts and two relief appearances.
Anderson broke into the big leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, immediately carving out a consistent role in their rotation for his first two MLB seasons. The Milwaukee Brewers traded for the righty in 2016, and he wound up spending four full seasons as a starter for the club.
Entering 2020, Anderson was 53-40 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.261 WHIP and 9.9 WAR.
Anderson fell off from there, though, bouncing around from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Rays and Rockies. In his four seasons with those five franchises – not even including his minor league stints with the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers – Anderson went 6-16 with a 6.19 ERA, 1.464 WHIP and a -0.3 WAR.
Mitch Keller is slated to be Pittsburgh's ace once again, but more depth behind him was required. The Pirates notably traded for Martín Pérez and signed Marco Gonzales to beef up their starting rotation for 2024 after Johan Oviedo underwent offseason Tommy John surgery.
Luis Ortiz, Roansy Contreras, Bailey Falter – and now Anderson – will be left to compete for a back-of-the-rotation spot in Pittsburgh throughout Spring Training.
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