Veteran right-hander joins eighth MLB team

The Red Sox have signed right-hander Chase Anderson to a major league deal, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (X link). It was a short stint in free agency for Anderson, who was only officially released from his minors deal with the Pirates earlier on Saturday.

Friday was the deadline for Anderson and other Article XX(B) free agents to decide whether or not to exercise the opt-out clauses in their minor league contracts unless their teams agreed to include them on the 26-man active roster. Since the Pirates seemed to prefer other options for their starting rotation, Anderson was prepared to opt out and quickly landed with Boston after returning to the open market.

Assuming Anderson appears in a big league game, the Red Sox will be the eighth different team Anderson has pitched for during his 10 MLB seasons.  The right-hander posted some solid numbers with the Diamondbacks and Brewers from 2014-19, but he has struggled mightily ever since, with a 6.19 ERA over 192 innings since the start of the 2020 season.

Anderson has bounced around to seven teams (including two stints with the Rays) in the last four-plus years, seeing action at the big league level with the Blue Jays, Phillies, Reds, Rays, and Rockies. Anderson had a 5.75 ERA over 17 starts and 81 1/3 innings last season for a Rockies team desperate to fill innings within an injury-riddled rotation. Boston’s pitching situation isn’t in quite such a dire state. However, there is definite uncertainty within the projected starting five of Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck.

Lucas Giolito’s season-ending elbow surgery thinned out a rotation already lacking in depth. Anderson can now fill a swingman role who can step in for a spot start if necessary.  The fact that Anderson landed a guaranteed big league deal might speak to how urgently the Red Sox wanted to add pitching help before Opening Day, though it is safe to assume that Anderson’s deal isn’t overly pricey.