Pittsburgh Pirates Head to the Desert Looking to Stay Hot

Tyler Anderson’s potential final Pirate start

Left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson is scheduled to start the second game of the series on Tuesday night. As Noah pointed out during the All-Star Break, it’s possible that Anderson has already made his final start with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to wait until the fifth game after the break to scheduled Anderson to start it made it even more clear that a trade could occur sooner rather than later. Then over the weekend there were reports that the New York Mets could be targeting Anderson for rotation help.

If Anderson makes it to his start on Tuesday night, which may not be a guarantee based on some rumblings Nick and I have heard from sources in the industry, it could very well be his final start as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On the season the veteran lefty has pitched 97.1 innings in 17 starts. Overall, Anderson owns a 4.35 ERA, 4.44 FIP, a career-best 5.9% walk rate, 19.8% strikeout rate and a home run rate of 1.22 HR/9. If you take away a disaster of an inning against the Braves and one against the Nationals, Anderson’s ERA on the season drops to 3.60.

If Anderson makes it to his start on Tuesday night it will be one final opportunity for him to build up his trade value. Being a veteran lefty who has always been a quality starting pitcher, Anderson should land the Pirates a decent return for a non-top of the rotation starter who is a rental. With one more strong start, Anderson will only continue to raise his trade value.