Milwaukee Brewers Bring Back Brett Anderson on One Year Deal

The Milwaukee Brewers have a talented pitching staff; that is a given. But with that fifth spot in the rotation still up for grabs, as well as concerns about injuries to pitchers this season after a shortened 2020 campaign, as the old saying goes, you can never have too many arms.

So in a move that makes a lot of sense, the Milwaukee Brewers will be bringing back experienced left-hander Brett Anderson on a one-year deal.

As Passan mentions, Anderson is signing for $2.5 million, which is half of what he was making in 2020. He also has the opportunity to earn an additional $1 million in incentives.

With the Crew last season, Anderson logged 47 innings of work and a 4.21 ERA, along with a FIP of 4.38 and a 1.277 WHIP. He also walked just five percent of the batters he faced. But while his ERA was decent, the peripheral numbers were quite underwhelming for Anderson. According to Baseball Savant, he was well below league average in hard-hit rate, K-rate, exit velocity, whiff rate, xBA, and xSLG.

Even so, as I mentioned above, this is a reunion that made a lot of sense for both parties. Anderson provides the Brewers with some additional rotation depth — which they needed — as well as an experienced left-hander to rely on. On top of that, the addition of Kolten Wong at second base and the return of Lorenzo Cain in centerfield could provide Anderson’s numbers with a big boost.

Anderson is a groundball heavy pitcher, with a career rate of 56.8 percent, and he hit almost 58 percent last season. Wong is a two-time Gold Glove winner at second base and coupled with Orlando Arcia at shortstop. the two form a strong defensive duo. Not to mention that we all know what Cain can do in the outfield. Meaning, some of those balls in play from last season that turned into base hits may become outs in 2021.

The key for Anderson is going to be staying healthy. He has battled injuries for much of his career, pitching in over 100 innings only four times between 2009 and 2019. In 2020 with the Crew, he again found himself on the IL a few times. But when he’s been healthy, he’s been pretty good.

Anderson will join a rotation made up of Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Josh Lindblom, and Adrian Houser, along with Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, and we could potentially see Brent Suter start some games as well.

A major concern that Craig Counsell has entering the new year is overworking his pitching staff that is coming off an unusual 2020 season. However, the Anderson signing certainly helps as he gives them another arm to eat up innings, and quietly, he could be someone who has a sneaky good season behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ improved defense up the middle.