Orioles sign Nick Anderson

[Jim'sKid26]

8 minutes ago, Orange said:

Just went over his BBRef page... Dude was exceptional through 2020, including a strong run through the minors. He had 6 saves for the Rays in 2020 and it just seems as though when he's finishing games he is most comfortable. (56 saves across all levels - 10 in MLB.) Looks like there was an injury in 2021 and he really sucked in the minors in 2021-2022 (though not many IP), but the Braves gave him another shot in the bigs in 2023 and he was very, very good once again - 145 ERA+ and a 1.10 WHIP in 35.2 IP. This year he was underwhelming but 'fine' for the Royals and they released him and he signed and ultimately opted out of his Dodgers minor league deal.

Looking at his K/9 numbers he was an average-to-good strikeout guy (~9.5 K/9) early on (and actually much lower in two years as a starter in the independent leagues), then something happened and he was a super-elite strikeout guy (~15 K/9) for four years (this got him to the show and a stint as a closer), then he missed some time and dropped back down the minors where he was awful (again, limited IP), and now he's back to being just an average-to-good strikeout guy (like between 7.5-9.0 K/9). I mean, I don't want to say what I think that arc looks like... so I won't.

Overall I think he's a great signing. If he's the kind of dude who is just the most comfortable closing out games maybe he can do that for us? A 9.0 K/9 is good enough if he maintains a WHIP under 1.10 and doesn't allow many runs (obviously).

Two injuries and one surgery. Initial injury was a UCL tear that required surgery in 2021. Missed most of the year. Second injury was a "shoulder injury," that landed him on the 60 day IL. 

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/nick-anderson-has-elbow-surgery

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/braves-nick-anderson-lands-on-60-day-il/

 

Edited August 28 by Jim'sKid26
references

[CaptainRedbeard]

Intriguing just because he spent some time at the Dodgers’ pitching lab after signing with them and showed some increased velocity after. The Dodgers presumably didn’t have roster space to add him and he opted out. So the Orioles may be the ones to benefit from the Dodgers fixing him. 

Adding him before September 1 means he will be postseason eligible as well.

Much more interesting than others who have been in the recent parade of out of options AAAA guys. 

[Just Regular]

He is maybe the brightest Relievers burn bright and die fast story of recent years.

You can't really reliever armada your way through 162 games, but the quirky 2020 gave the Rays a one-time opportunity to carry less bedraggled relief aces into the tournament and it happened to coincide with when he was the Robert Stephenson guy.

They rode him into the ground that October sure as Grady Little did Pedro Martinez.

It is fun and exciting if he has some fastball back.    During our Royals games, he seemed to me to be one of their "all slow" bullpen they ended up addressing with the Hunter Harvey and Lucas Erceg trades.

He is a very famous pitcher in the Raysian Driveline student of the week kind of subculture.

Edited August 28 by Just Regular

[RVAOsFan]

 

[Just Regular]

I think there might be Trevor Rogers "meet us in Cleveland" travel dynamics here.

Dodgers AAA is Oklahoma City, if that happens to be where he has an AirBNB now.

Kind of a run around to trek him to Los Angeles when the team is coming to Denver for the weekend.

That said, there might be someone to move on from today or tomorrow...

[jamalshw]

The bullpen needs help. Anderson was as dominant as they come in 2019 and 2020 before injury and seems to have bounced back...at least somewhat in 2023 and to start 2024. He's got swing and miss (though not as much post-injury). I like the move and is (at worst) a lateral move for some of our bullpen guys with a chance you find lightning in a bottle. 

[interloper]

Goodbye Burch Smith, the magic was fun for a minute, but way too homer-prone to trust. 

[sportsfan8703]

2 hours ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

Yet another attempt at finding lightening in a bottle.

Yup.  We don't need these relievers to be here for 6+ years, just 6 weeks.  Relievers are volatile.  Maybe we catch one that is in an "on" stretch.  Worked with Webb last year until the playoffs.  

[Keygans]

Great idea.   If it works great, if it doesn’t … bye

[Tony-OH]

Say what you want about Elias and his staff building a bullpen, but they never stop looking for additional arms that could help, even if just for a few games.

They seem to be using that last bullpen spot to keep trying guys out and see if they catch another Brandon Webb or Danny Coulombe. 

Can't hurt and the way Burch has pitched and the fact that he has an option means you can send him down and bring up Anderson. Like @CaptainRedbeard said, he's a product of the Dodgers pitching lab and they probably did not have space for him in a deep bullpen. Then again, he only pitched three times in their system, so who knows?

In his one excellent appearance in AAA on August 21st, here was his statcast:

Here was his pitches with KC this year:

I don't see a ton of change besides he moved up his 4-seam usage to 50% from 22.5% with KC which seems surprising since that was hit hard with KC this year.

Burch Smith has better movement on his pitches:

But Smith's cutter and curveballs have gotten hit a bit.

I don't know if Anderson is going to be better than Smith or not. Basically they're both 6th inning guys and guys you'd rather not be working in high leverage.

[sportsfan8703]

Burch Smith, Bowman, Kriske, and Anderson, have all been added recently.  

https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/orioles

I see that Kriske is out of options, so I guess we'll have to add him shortly, or turn around and DFA him.  Only Smith is showing that he has an option.  

Revolving door. 

[CaptainRedbeard]

I believe that Burch Smith actually cannot be optioned without his consent because he’s accrued 5 years of service time. He has the option remaining, but he can elect FA if they option him.

Unclear who is going to go for Anderson. 

[Jim'sKid26]

3 minutes ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

I believe that Burch Smith actually cannot be optioned without his consent because he’s accrued 5 years of service time. He has the option remaining, but he can elect FA if they option him.

Unclear who is going to go for Anderson. 

If you were Burch Smith would you agree to an option? This late in the year in a pennant race your chances of seeing the MLB team again are pretty high. Two weeks in Norfolk would do him good. 

[LookitsPuck]

Oddly enough his 4 seam fastball is his worst pitch (run value wise). Curveball and sinkers are his best, and perhaps understandably, are his most used (3rd most is his 4 seamer). 

It'd be interesting to see if the O's think they can do something with his 4 seamer, i.e. only throwing it against certain hitters (LH vs RH) or only in certain counts or areas of the plate. Either way, there appears to be something there. 

[now]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Burch Smith, Bowman, Kriske, and Anderson, have all been added recently.  

https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/orioles

I see that Kriske is out of options, so I guess we'll have to add him shortly, or turn around and DFA him.  Only Smith is showing that he has an option.  

Revolving door. 

Great, join the party!

Looking at that bullpen depth chart, it looks like the B team if we have a lead tonight (Akin, Kimbrel, Soto).