Pittsburgh Pirates Free Agent Target: Starting Pitcher Chase Anderson

A veteran right-handed starting pitcher who is a free agent this offseason and looking to bounce back in 2021 could be targetted by the Pittsburgh Pirates

This offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be looking to accomplish a few things. Most of all, they will be looking to trade some of their MLB talent in order to continue to strengthen an already strong farm system.

The Pittsburgh Pirates may also look to add a veteran starting pitcher this offseason. It would make sense for the Pirates to look to add a veteran who is looking to bounce back in 2021 to help fill out their starting rotation. One such veteran starting pitcher who fits this description is righty Chase Anderson.

Anderson is coming off a season with the Toronto Blue Jays in which he struggled mightily. In 10 games (7 starts) with the Blue Jays the veteran posted a 7.22 ERA and a 6.16 FIP in 33.2 innings of work. This including a career-worst, and alarming, 2.94 HR/9.

Entering 2020, Anderson owned a 3.94 ERA and a 4.45 FIP in 857 career innings pitched. These 857 innings came 176 games, 167 of which were starts. In these outings he allowed home runs at a 1.35 HR/9 clip, to go with a 7.9% walk rate and a 20.2% strikeout rate.

After struggling in 2020, Anderson would likely be willing to sign a one-year deal in an effort to bounce back and build his value back up. This is something the Pittsburgh Pirates have done with success in the past, and looked to do last offseason with Derek Holland.

Despite his struggles in 2020 there are reasons for optimism with Anderson. First off, he appeared to be victimized by his batting average on balls in play. Anderson’s BAbip of .362 was 62 points higher than league average. This indicates that Anderson was plagued a good bit by poor luck/poor defense in 2020.

A second positive sign for Anderson was his contact rates. He limited opposing batters to an average exit velocity of 87.9 MPH in 2020, which was better than league average. Additionally, his 38.1% hard hit rate was nearly 4% lower than the league average.

Anderson’s biggest issue in 2020 was the home run ball. However, this number was a bit diluted. He allowed 11 home runs in 2020, 5 of which came in one start against the New York Yankees at the uber hitter friendly Yankee Stadium. There was also a start at Fenway Park in which he allowed 3 home runs. Outside of these two starts, his home run rate was 1.11 and his ERA dropped to 4.67.

Pirate pitching coach Oscar Marin is a big believer in the curveball. This is a pitch that Anderson threw 16.1% of the time in 2020. While the pitch was not as good as it has been in previous seasons, it is likely still one Marin believes he could work with.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, Anderson could provide some needed back end of the rotation help. Especially with trade rumors swiriling around Joe Musgrove and Steven Brault, and Trevor Williams be a non-tender candidate.

Additionally, by pitching well, Anderson could rebuild his value. In turn, this could help the Pirates net a good return for him in a potential July trade. For multiple reasons, Anderson would make sense as a bounce back free agent target for the Pirates.