Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Potential Trade Partners for Tyler Anderson

This past offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Tyler Anderson to a one-year deal, likely with the hope of being able to flip him at the trade deadline So far, he’s built up some value. Where could he go in a trade?

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed left-handed starter Tyler Anderson to a low-cost one-year contract this past offseason. The hope was that Anderson would be able to build up some value and be a trade piece in July. So far, it looks like the contract has gone according to plan.

Four starts into his tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates the veteran lefty been a very solid starting pitcher. Through 20.2 innings, Anderson has pitched to the tune of a 3.92 ERA, 3.82 FIP, and 1.35 WHIP. Anderson also has a healthy 24.1% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. Anderson’s only struggles has been with the long ball with a 1.31 HR/9 rate.

Anderson has also been good at getting weak contact and batters to swing-and-miss at his stuff. His 86.6 MPH exit velocity ranks in the top 75th percentile and the 38.3% hard-hit rate ranks in the top 52nd percentile. His chase rate of 31.3% is in the top 81st percentile and the pitcher’s 28.8% whiff rate is in the top 62nd percentile of all hurlers.

His cutter has also been a strong pitch with a -2.4 run value/100 offerings. The only pitch he’s thrown more than 10 times this season with a below-average run value is his four-seam fastball, but it’s very close to average with a 0.8 run value/100 pitches.

The ERA estimators have also been kind to Anderson. He currently holds a 3.84 SIERA and 3.77 xFIP. He was also about a league-average pitcher with the Colorado Rockies having a 98 ERA-, 102 FIP- and 103 ERA+.

A low-cost lefty who induces weak contact and gets swings and misses will get a decent amount of attention on the trade market. So who are some potential trade landing spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their left-handed starter?