All Systems Go – Brett Anderson Reportedly Passes Physical

Not that we were worried or anything – okay, maybe just a touch – about whether Brett Anderson would pass his team physical with the Cubs. As recently reported by Buster Olney, Anderson has passed that physical and, barring an unforeseen issue, should shortly be named as the Cubs’ newest acquisition.

Brett Anderson passed his physical with the Cubs.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 25, 2017

Cubs Insider’s own Evan Altman (follow him on Twitter, he likes that!) was early on the speculation following Anderson’s mystery tweet. We learned a couple hours later, via Ken Rosenthal on Twitter, that the lefty indeed had a deal with the Cubs pending a physical.

If Anderson can remain healthy – which, given his history, is a pretty big ‘if’ – he will add a lethal injection to the Cubs’ pitching staff as they head to Mesa for Spring Training. Anderson may crack the starting rotation or he could prove to be an invaluable Andrew Miller-like lefty coming out of the ‘pen in middle relief. Picture this: Jon Lester followed by Brett Anderson, who then hands the ball to Wade Davis. You see what I mean, right?

Brendan Miller eloquently noted in his masterful breakdown that Anderson boasts an array of pitches with enough movement to force hitters to do little else but beat the ball into the ground. In fact, his slider has more cutting action than 99.78% of all left-handed sliders in baseball. I can go on and on but you should definitely check out Brendan’s earlier piece complete with GIFs showing Anderson’s curve, sinker and slider.