Chase Anderson Was a Key Part of the Brewers Staff in the Mid-Teens

Robert Chase Anderson was born in 1987 in Wichita Falls, Texas. After graduating from Rider High School, he elected not to sign with the Minnesota Twins, who picked the right-handed pitcher in the 42nd round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft. After a year at North Central Texas College (Gainesville), the Twins again selected Anderson, this time in the 40th round. He again chose not to sign, playing one more year at NCTC before transferring to the University of Oklahoma. The Arizona Diamondbacks picked Anderson in the 9th round of the 2009 draft, signing him for a reported $85,000.

Anderson started surprisingly low in the minors for a college pitcher. He began his professional career at Missoula (Montana) in the Rookie Pioneer League and spent five seasons in the minors before being promoted to the big leagues in 2014.

After making six starts at Double-A Mobile in the Southern League, Anderson made his big-league debut on May 11, earning a win against the Chicago White Sox. He won his first five decisions before a losing skein of four games dropped his record to 5-4. He pitched well the rest of the season, ending with a record of 9-7, a FIP of 4.22, and an ERA+ of 93. He finished 10th in the NL ROY voting.

Anderson had a similar season in 2015 for Arizona but was traded to the Brewers in January 2016.

Although his nine wins in 2016 placed him second on the team behind Zach Davies, his 5.09 FIP and 97 ERA+ were rather pedestrian. That would change in 2017, as he won 12 games against four losses, had a 3.58 FIP, and had an ERA+ of 160. His 4.2 bWAR was the best on the team, and his 133 strikeouts were a career high.

In the next two seasons for Milwaukee, he appeared in 62 games (57 starts), won a combined 17 games, and had a decent ERA+ of 105. His 5.04 FIP left something to be desired, though. Rather than exercise an option for $8.5 million after the 2019 season, the Brewers traded Anderson to the Toronto Blue Jays for power-hitting prospect Chad Spanberger. Unfortunately for the Brewers, Spanberger never made it past Triple-A, playing only four games at that level before retiring.

Anderson posted the worst numbers of his career in the Covid year of 2020, with an ERA+ of 61 and FIP of 6.16. Granted his free agency after the season, Anderson signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2021 season, had similar numbers to the previous year, and was released in late August.

Over the next year, Anderson bounced from organization to organization, playing in the minors for the Rangers, Tigers, and Rays before signing with the Cincinnati Reds for the final month of the 2022 campaign. He mostly struggled in nine appearances (seven starts) with a FIP of 5.07 and an ERA+ of 69.

In 2023, the Reds re-signed Anderson, and after pitching five games at Triple-A Louisville, he was purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays. Anderson pitched decently in two appearances over a seven-day span (five innings, two hits, one walk, two strikeouts, and a save) but was waived by the Rays. The Colorado Rockies picked up Anderson in mid-May and gave him 17 starts, in which he pitched to a FIP of 5.89 and ERA+ of 86. After the season, he was granted free agency and scooped up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who signed him to a minor league deal. Anderson pitched well in the spring for the Buccos (2-0 record, 2.45 ERA, 0.73 WHIP), but the pitcher opted out of his contract and signed a major league deal with the Boston Red Sox instead.

Anderson started well for Boston, earning a pair of three-inning saves in his first two appearances. In early August, he was released by the Bosox and signed with the Texas Rangers, returning to his home state. He was called up to the bigs after making four starts at Triple-A Round Rock (Texas). He made two appearances in early September and got lit up, allowing nine hits, seven earned runs, and two walks in 6.1 innings. He was released a few days later.

The Texan pitched well in his four years with Milwaukee, winning 38 games with an ERA+ of 112. His FIP was 4.70, while his ERA was 3.83 across 118 games, 112 of them starts.

As of Christmas 2024, Anderson is a free agent, awaiting a possible deal for 2025.

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