Pittsburgh Pirates: Two Hypothetical Tyler Anderson Trade Proposals

Tyler Anderson could be one of the more valuable rental starting pitchers at the trade deadline. So let’s take a look at two hypothetical trades the Pittsburgh Pirates could swing involving Anderson.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in a rebuilding state. They’ve been in this state since the 2019-2020 offseason and made many more moves to further this process this past winter. They traded a handful of their worthwhile veterans like Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon for some nice packages of prospects.

One thing many rebuilding clubs do is sign veteran free agents to cheap one year deals in the hopes they can build up some value throughout the season and potentially be a trade piece for the team. The Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington has done this a few times already, and could do it again this year with left-handed starting pitcher Tyler Anderson.

Anderson was signed to a one-year deal by the Pittsburgh after they traded Musgrove and Taillon. To say it’s been a steal so far would be an understatement. Anderson has tossed 46.1 innings while posting a 3.50 ERA, 3.54 FIP and 1.10 WHIP. Anderson has put up a solid 23.5% strikeout rate and strong 7.5% walk rate, leading to a K/BB ratio just over 3.00. Plus he’s only allowed home runs at a 0.97 per-9 rate.

He’s been about average when it comes to hard hit and batted balls. He currently sits with an 89 MPH exit velocity and 38% hard hit rate. The former ranks in the 46th percentile while the ladder is in the 52nd percentile. Overall, he has some solid ERA estimators. This includes a 3.92 xFIP, 3.96 xERA, 4.02 SIERA and 3.99 DRA.

Anderson has been quite a durable arm as well. He’s yet failed to go at least 5 innings in each of his 8 starts this season. The most runs he’s given up in any of his games has been 4. So not only is he able to give his team a handful of innings in each of his outings, he’s also able to keep his team in the game. However, he is a rental at this point. By the time a team trades for him, he’ll only have a few months left on his contract. Overall, he could bring back a prospect in the 40-40+ FV range. In terms of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects, that’s around where prospects like Nick Garcia and Canaan Smith-Njigba, and Mason Martin currently sit at for reference.

Today we will take a look at two potential trade ideas the Pittsburgh Pirates should explore with two National League East teams. Anderson should be one of the more interesting names to be on the move this summer, so let’s get into my first proposal.

Proposal #1

The Miami Marlins are in a spot that the Pittsburgh Pirates themselves could be in as soon as the end of 2022. Many of their prospects are on the cusp of being ready to take over major league roles. They’ve already seen the arrival of top prospects such as Jazz Chisholm, who was tearing up MLB pitching before being placed on the 10-day injured list, and Sixto Sanchez, who looked like an ace in the making during 2020, but is also on the IL.

Not only are Chisholm and Sanchez looking like cornerstones for the Marlin franchise, some of their best prospects have yet to even make their major league debuts, but could very soon. 2020 first round pick Max Meyer is a consensus top 50 prospect, as is 2019 first round pick JJ Bleday. Trevor Rogers is also looking like an ace in the making and Edward Cabrera is another very notable pitching prospect.

Currently, the Marlins are in a very odd spot in the National League East. They’re only 3.5 games back of the division lead with a 19-23 record. The East has been an extremely weak division this season. The New York Mets are leading the division with a 20-17 record, but no team is more than 4 games out of the lead.

The Marlins don’t need to trade for a long term solution for their rotation right now. But a stopgap like Anderson would work perfectly for a team like this. Pablo Lopez and the aforementioned Trevor Rogers have done outstanding this year for the Marlins. Sandy Alcantara has done solid as well, and up until their last starts, this trio had a sub-3.00 ERA.

However, the back end of the rotation has been up in the air, mainly due to injuries. Sanchez is still on the IL and 2020 standout Elieser Hernandez pitched just one game before being placed on the list with Sanchez. The 4th and 5th spots have been a mix between Daniel Castano and Nick Neidert. Neither found too much success surrendering 16 earned runs in a combined 25.1 innings while having a 13/16 K/BB ratio.

Sanchez and Hernandez won’t be out forever, and the team has Meyer and Cabrera waiting in the wings. So getting a one year stopgap to help all these young arms, especially ones recovering from injury, make the transition to the majors is something the Marlins could potentially do, and Anderson fits that bill. So what kind of return could Anderson command?

The prospect the Pittsburgh Pirates could take a look at is outfielder Diowill Burgos. The 20-year-old is currently ranked as the team’s 32nd best prospect on FanGraphs. The Marlins acquired Burgos through a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Austin Dean. Burgos can absolutely rake. In 2019, the slugger batted .316/.420/.579 with 16 doubles and 11 home runs. He showed some fantastic plate discipline as well, walking 15.1% of the time to oppose a 20.3% strikeout rate. All told, Burgos had a .427 wOBA in 251 plate appearances. So far, he’s off to a hot start to 2021 with 11 hits, including 6 extra base hits (4 doubles, 2 homers), with a strong 10/13 BB/K ratio in 40 trips to the plate.

Burgos has above average future grades for his hit and raw power tools and an average future grade for his game power tool. Given his 6’1″, 207 pound  frame, he could reach that power potential. However, his future is likely going to be regulated to DH/LF. Bugos is only a 30-grade runner and fielder. Sure he can hit, but long term he’s not going to remain as a regular fielder.

Burgos could be the headliner, but I could see them getting a throw in piece or two. Someone like Magneuris Sierra to help the Pirates’ outfield depth, or a prospect around a 35-FV to give the overall farm some more depth.