Brett Anderson Headed to Chicago, But Why? (Now We Know)

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanJanuary 23, 2017

Ed. note: We know by now that Anderson has indeed agreed to a deal with the Cubs, so if you’d like a little more analysis on exactly what he brings (including GIFs of his pitch movement!), you could click here.

It’s no secret that the Cubs have been looking for starting pitching this winter, though any movement in that market seems to have stagnated a bit. Just look at how Jason Hammel and Travis Wood are kinda twisting in the wind. Surely things will thaw out a bit as we get closer to pitchers and catchers reporting, for both the Cubs and their former players.

Among several pitchers mentioned in connection to the Cubs over the course of the offseason, Brett Anderson‘s name has been popping up quite a bit lately. Our own Sean Holland recently discussed the potential addition of the former Dodger when advocating for Wood’s return.

There’s been very little grist for the rumor mill as far as Anderson is concerned, but the outspoken southpaw added a few grains when he tweeted this Monday night:

But what does that mean, really? Anderson might have a deal with the Cubs, he might be meeting with the team so both sides can feel each other out, or he might be traveling for totally non-baseball reasons. Oh, I suppose this could even involve the other team in town.

It’s a little premature at this point to talk about fit and all that, but Anderson is a lefty who’s worked almost exclusively as a starter over parts of eight seasons. He also missed most of 2016 with a back injury, so he feels like the perfect candidate for somewhat of a bounceback swingman role. That would play right into the Cubs’ hand, at least in terms of what they’ve said they want to do with the pitching staff this season.

Wait, didn’t I just say it was too early to talk about this in any detail? Sometimes I just can’t help myself. If Anderson really is coming to the North Side of Chicago on business, though, he might want to go back and scrub his Twitter account.

More on this as it develops. Well, if it develops.

***UPDATE***

That didn’t take long. Ken Rosenthal reported that Anderson does indeed have a deal with the Cubs.

Financial terms have not yet been disclosed, but I’m thinking Anderson’s inability to stay healthy means the deal includes a relatively low base salary with some performance bonuses built in. Brendan Miller will have more detailed analysis in the morning.

***UPDATE #2***

So now I’m kicking myself for revising the part where I said I figured the base would be around $4-6 million, though I did say as much on the Cubs Related podcast we just recorded. Figured incentives would push the overall to $8-10 million (though I was not nearly as specific on said pod), which is all very easy to say now that we’re getting more info.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanJanuary 23, 2017
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