Pittsburgh Pirates: Examining the Return for Tyler Anderson

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Tyler Anderson to the Seattle Mariners for a two player package. So what does the return look like and what kind of prospects did the Bucs get?

Just a few minutes before the clock struck midnight on Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded left-handed starting pitcher Tyler Anderson to the Seattle Mariners for a two prospect package. The trade marks the third notable move Ben Cherington has made as we approach the trade deadline. So what kind of players did the Pirates receive from Seattle?

The headliner of the deal is catcher Carter Bins. Bins was Seattle’s11th round pick in 2019. Bins showed impressive plate discipline in 2019, walking 16.3% of the time and putting up a .391 on-base percentage. Though he only had a .208 batting average and a .357 slugging percentage.

This season Bins started out at the Mariners’ High-A affiliate. He looked outstanding, hitting .284/.422/.493 with a .415 wOBA, and 151 wRC+. Bins continued to display a high-end walk rate. He drew ball four 17.3% of the time. Plus, he showed some pop with a .209 isolated slugging percentage. Bins had a higher line drive rate (30.8%) than ground ball rate (29.7%). Though there was a lot going for him, he struck out 29.2% of the time.

His overall fantastic production at High-A earned him a promotion to Double-A, but the transition hasn’t been the smoothest. Bins has just a .467 OPS, though this is in just a very small sample size of 40 plate appearances and he already has 10 walks.

Bins has displayed some solid power. FanGraphs grades his raw power as a 55. Though they only project his game power as a 45-grade tool. His hit tool is seen as just a 40-grade tool, likely from the swing and miss. Bins has a strong 6-foot, 200-pound frame, which does give him the potential to break into that plus-power potential.

As a defender Bins projects as a 50-grade fielder, which makes him about average. He also has an average arm for a backstop coming in with a 50-grade. Bins gives some athleticism behind the plate as well. FanGraphs considers him a 45-grade runner, which isn’t bad for a catcher.

Overall, before the trade, Bins ranked as the M’s 28th best prospect on FanGraphs list. Not bad considering the Mariners have the 6th best farm system in baseball by their rankings. He has a 40-FV, which given how deep the Pittsburgh Pirates system simply is, would put Bins in their top 33-46 prospects. Though the Bucs could see him in the majors within the next season or two as he will be 23 for almost all of 2022.

The other player the Pittsburgh Pirates got is the Panamanian born pitcher Joaquin Tejada. Tejada is very young as he turned 18 less than 3 weeks ago (July 16th). He also has a small stature, standing at just 5’11″, 160 pounds. Tejada is still a clear work-in-progress given his age and size. He’s already made his professional debut as he’s tossed 5 innings with Seattle’s Dominican Summer League affiliate.

Tejada has two plus offerings, that being a fastball and curveball. Tejada’s fastball only came in around the mid-80’s when the Mariners signed him, but was touching 93 MPH in the Dominican Summer League. His curveball also has a decent amount of spin. Though the large rise in fastball velocity did mean his command took a hit, Tejada is considered a highly athletic pitcher with a high-energy delivery, according to Baseball America.

Tejada has a high ceiling. His athleticism and projectability give him a potentially bright future. He’s still very young and raw, but the talent is there. It’ll take a while until he’s in the majors, but he’s a solid prospect to get in a return for a rental, back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. Especially considering the Pirates also got back another prospect with Tejada.