Angels News: Tyler Anderson Won’t be Affected by No Shift Rule, Says GM Minasian

When the Angels signed All-Star LHP Tyler Anderson to a three-year, $39 million deal early in the offseason, it looked like great value. As more and more pitchers have signed, and the market has exploded in value, it’s started to look like a steal.

Anderson was great last season, going 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA, and making his first career All-Star team. He was rewarded with the largest deal of his career, but with the way the starter market has looked, he likely could’ve gotten a lot more.

Luckily for the Angels, they don’t have to worry about that. They’re happy to have their guy, and are looking forward to having him for the next three seasons.

The one potential reason to be wary of Anderson is the new rules being implemented next season, most notably the banning of the shift. Anderson is a contact pitcher, and has made his living pitching to soft contact. However, without the shift in the MLB, contact should lead to a lot more base hits. Angels GM Perry Minasian was asked about that on the MLB Network, and said he doesn't think his new pitcher would have any issues adjusting to the new rules.

"We feel really good about Tyler. Obviously he had an unbelievable year, 2.50 ERA, All-Star. It’s more than just pitching with him. It’s what he brings to the clubhouse. It’s the competitiveness, the edge. I felt like we were lacking a certain amount of toughness on the mound and we’ve got a young, impressionable group — I think our pitching, especially our rotation, might be, is probably the most underrated thing on our club that’s talked about media wise. We’ve got some really talented guys. And one thing about Tyler, he’ll find a way, and he always has and we think he’s going to be really productive. The other thing, too, stylistically, he puts the ball in the air. And it’s not a ton of ground balls. So, he’s got the ability to create soft contact in the air and that’s usually a good result."

Anderson should be a huge addition to an Angels rotation that, like Minasian said, is actually very underrated heading into next season. The Angels rotation should surprise a lot of people in 2023, and they’ll keep the Angels in a lot of games if the offense falters. And for what it's worth, Anderson's pitching coach from last season with the Dodgers also doesn't see his former pitcher having any issues next season.