On Tuesday, it was announced that reliever Nick Anderson was signing with the Baltimore Orioles on a minor league deal. After opting out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers, Anderson will be sent to AAA Norfolk. This would be Anderson’s third team of the season, after spending time with both the Royals and the Dodgers.
A beginning as a middle reliever in Kansas City resulted in a 4.04 ERA in 35 ⅔ innings. He showcased a career-low 19% strikeout rate and was walking 10% of batters faced. This subpar stat line led to his release from the Royals after the All-Star Break.
Anderson would next sign with the Dodgers and was assigned to AAA Oklahoma City on August 10. There, Anderson pitched three times, allowing only one earned run over 4 ⅓ innings, striking out five and walking three. Now, he has decided to sign with the Orioles after opting out of Los Angeles’ minor league deal.
A promising look for Orioles fans, Anderson’s struggles only appear to be recent. Last season with the Atlanta Braves, Anderson recorded a 3.04 ERA over 35 ⅓ innings. He is known to bounce back well against injuries, and his average fastball was 96 and 95.2 respectively in 2019 and 2020. If the Oriole’s pitching coaches can help get his velocity and control to what it once was, this could be a very detrimental pick-up for Baltimore. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com has reported that the Orioles hope to get Nick Anderson up to the big leagues as soon as possible.
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