Phillies trade rumors: Club close to acquiring Tyler Anderson from Pirates

The Phillies have acquired Tyler Anderson from the Pirates in exchange for a pair of prospects.

Buckle up, Phillies fans.

In the words of Michael Scott, “Oh my god! Okay, it’s happening!”

To bolster their floundering starting rotation, the Philadelphia Phillies are acquiring starting pitcher Tyler Anderson from their fellow Pennsylvania baseball team in Pittsburgh, as reported by multiple reputable sources in the industry.

Despite rumors that the Pirates wanted catching prospect Rafael Marchan in exchange for Anderson, he won’t be part of this deal. Instead, the Phillies are sending RHP Cristian Hernandez and fellow catcher Abrahan Gutierrez to Pittsburgh.

MLB Pipeline has Hernandez ranked 29th in the Phillie system, but as Stark noted, he has struck out an impressive 74 batters in just 56 2/3 innings for the low-A Clearwater Threshers this season. Guttierez is also in Clearwater and is hitting .285/.418/.424, but doesn’t crack the Phillies’ top-thirty rankings.

Marchan, who made his MLB debut in September 2020, was also rumored to be in play for another trade between the two Pennsylvania ball clubs, that would send Richard Rodriguez to Philly. The Phillies are still rumored to be frontrunners to get the Pirates closer.

Currently the number-four prospect in the Phillies system, Marchan has played 11 games at the big-league level between 2020 and 2021, totaling a .346/.393/.500 slash line with a .893 OPS, one home run, and three RBI. While the Phillies could still get Rodriguez from the Pirates, it’s unlikely that the Phillies would be willing to part with two catching prospects.

Though the teams themselves have not confirmed the trade, it is worth noting that the Pirates have scratched Anderson from his Tuesday night start and recalled a pair of pitchers from the minors.

What does Tyler Anderson bring to the Phillies?

This season, Anderson has a 4.35 ERA over 18 starts and has struck out 86 batters over 103 1/3 innings of work. He will join a Phillies rotation with three pitchers who have also already thrown more than 100 innings – Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin – though Anderson’s ERA is just slightly below Nola’s.

On ERA alone, Anderson is already an upgrade from Vince Velasquez, Matt Moore, and Chase Anderson, whose ERAs are each north of 5.50. Anderson has also only yielded 99 hits this season; each of the Phillies starters with 100+ innings has yielded at least 104. He’s walked fewer batters than Wheeler, but no one’s walk rate is as impressive as Eflin’s 1.4 (only 16 walks issued in 105 2/3 innings) this season. Overall, Anderson should fit in pretty seamlessly.

Bare minimum, as Paul Boye noted, Anderson can make it through five or six innings each start, which is something the majority of Phillies starters have struggled with. As Jayson Stark noted, Anderson has thrown at least five innings in every one of his 18 starts this season. By comparison, Vince Velasquez has surpassed five innings in only eight of 16 games.

Anderson isn’t going to be enough on his own, but he’s certainly a solid start, literally.

Update:

There has been a “snag” in the trade with regards to the two prospects going to Pittsburgh. According to insider Robert Murray, Anderson was seen throwing in the Pirates bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s game, but is no longer the starter.

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