March 24, 1:13pm: MassLive’s Christopher Smith reports that Anderson’s deal with the Red Sox guarantees him $1.25MM and comes with an additional $500k in potential performance bonuses.
March 24, 9:38am: The Red Sox have made their deal with Anderson official, per a club announcement. Right-hander Lucas Giolito was transferred to the 60-day injured list in the corresponding move. Giolito’s placement on the IL is hardly a surprise, given he’s expected to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing an internal brace procedure on his right elbow.
March 23: The Red Sox have signed right-hander Chase Anderson to a Major League deal, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (X link). It was a very short stint in free agency for Anderson, who was only officially released from his minors deal with the Pirates earlier today.
Yesterday was the deadline for Anderson and other Article XX(B) free agents to decide whether or not to exercise the opt-out clauses in their minor league contracts, unless their teams had already agreed to include them on the 26-man active roster. Since it seems like the Pirates preferred other options for their starting rotation, Anderson was prepared to opt out, and then quickly landed with Boston after he returned to the open market.
Assuming Anderson appears in a big league game, the Red Sox will be the eighth different team Anderson has pitched for during his 10 MLB seasons. The right-hander posted some solid numbers with the Diamondbacks and Brewers from 2014-19, but he has struggled mightily ever since, with a 6.19 ERA over 192 innings since the start of the 2020 season.
Anderson has subsequently bounced around to seven different teams (including two stints with the Rays) in the last four-plus years, seeing action at the big league level with the Blue Jays, Phillies, Reds, Rays, and Rockies. Anderson had a 5.75 ERA over 17 starts and 81 1/3 innings last season for a Rockies team that was desperate to fill innings within an injury-riddled rotation. Boston’s pitching situation isn’t in quite such a dire state, though there is some definite uncertainty within the projected starting five of Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck.
Lucas Giolito’s season-ending elbow surgery thinned out a rotation that was already lacking in depth, so Anderson can now fill a swingman role who can step in for a spot start if necessary. The fact that Anderson landed a guaranteed big league deal might speak to how urgently the Red Sox wanted to add pitching help prior to Opening Day, though it is safe to assume that Anderson’s deal isn’t overly pricey.
Do the red Sox even want to win this year
Winning hasn’t been a priority for the Boston Red Sox since 2018
Mango – Very well said.
Henry has his 8 rings, he doesn’t give a crap about winning anymore. It’s all about the bottom line now.
Very sad state. Too bad the Celtics and Bruins are doing well right now. Only MLB or the City can change things (unless corporations stop sponsoring) as the statement about Fenway being an attraction says everything. Ownership no longer cares about the fans (unless it hits their bottom line).
Agreed. John Henry & Co. have accomplished what they had originally stated when they took over: to win multiple championships. But now that they have appeased us the peasants, they couldn’t care less about winning anymore. Time for owners that care about winning.
Try being a Pirates fan,lol
Pirates have a chance to win division this year
.
They do. Young talent in Pittsburgh and the minors. It’s just always the same “if everything that needs to go right does…” Scenario.I’ve been a Bucs fan since 76 and I’ve seen some really bad baseball in Pittsburgh for a lot of those years.I’m thrilled to see the young players starting to develop and hopefully at the least they make a run like back in 2013. I’m hoping the FO gives them the other pieces they’ll need to go further than the WC game but I won’t bet on it for sure
@Fever I think 90% of the commenters here can throw with more velo than this guy. And my knuckleball isn’t too bad.
Bring back a couple of guys who know what the culture used to be like from their days on the Red Sox farm???? Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada??? Andrew Benintendi??? Give up some kids?
Why? Neither is worth the cost.
All of those guys look completely toast, why even bother?
no
This is a shocker because the rumor is that Anderson does not have access to Medicare so the Sox will be on the hook for his medical expenses.
Full Throttle! Burning Cash Baby!!
no
Full throttle!
Full tank mode
Full throttle…right to the basement. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.
It’s amazing how Ownership used a duck boat to go around the board. While actually not landing in jail, the team went from Park Place and Boardwalk and collected that $200 to buy Mediterranean and Baltic with change to keep as a dividend.
FULL THROTTLE, BABY!!!!! Sox are in it to win it!!!
I’d rather roll with the guys we have now than a 36 year old pitcher who has a career FIP of 4.76. At least if you make a move, make it a good one. This is a waste of a roster space.
Innings of meaningless games. The best team in Red Sox history lost 54 games. And came to the postseason in fine shape and wiped every team they faced. Bingo bongo. Take a look at some of the stiffs who pitched for them that year. That’s how you win when it counts. By not overusing the good pitchers. Just ask the Yankees.
Who exactly are the good pitchers?
Waterford and Anchor Hocking have some good pitchers.
Too expensive for ownership. Maybe Tupperware or Rubbermaid…
@whyhayzee
I see what you’re saying, but if you generally have good pitchers, then you won’t have to worry about “eating innings.”
And if, by chance, we get close to a postseason race, wouldn’t it be easier to pick up a pitcher off waivers to eat innings and relieve our good pitchers?
This is a waste of a space, and if I were Cooper Criswell and possibly Winckowski (who hasn’t been confirmed to have a Major League spot), I’d be pretty mad right now.
Unfortunately for others with options left, they will use and burn through him before bringing Criswell up for example. Tampa’s method continuing. Can’t do it the other way since Anderson has no options. He’s either on the IL or DFAed in a month or less. Cost is minimal.
I don’t think Anderson will take any important innings from anybody. He’s just a warm body to have around so the young guys’ arms don’t fall off
Cooper Criswell ring a bell? Winckowski doesn’t have a spot yet either, last I heard.
Even a mostly healthy team needs 7-8 starters to get through the season. Criswell alone is not enough depth.
The word from Speier is Winck will be used as a reliever full-time again.
The only guy Anderson’s blocking is Greg Weissert, and nobody should be crying about that
“Criswell alone is not enough depth”
===================================
Agreed. Innings pitched last year (MLB + minors):
Bello 163
Pivetta 142.2
Crawford 132.1
Criswell 117.2
Houck 114.2
Whitlock 92.2
This adds up to 763 innings. Some of these totals will go up and some will go down.
162 games X 5 innings per start = 810 innings. So, they are probably aiming for 810 to 900 innings or more from starting pitchers. Anderson pitched 115 innings last year, bringing the total up to 878 innings. They may need to add more as the year goes on. If someone better comes along, they can DFA someone.
I also think it’s sad he was released from the Pirates minor league camp and we gave him a major league deal. Breslow and Bailey better know what they’re getting into.
Hilarious. Do you understand what the Pirates have in terms of starting pitcher studs on the farm, or is this the standard generalization we get from fans of a large market, under-achieving franchise.
Anderson pitched pretty well for the Pirates this spring, but he’s nothing approaching Skenes, Jones, Solometo or Chandler.
To be truthful, he would have been more of a fit on the big team’s proposed starting staff than Marco Gonzalez
But that’s the thing. Sox aren’t supposed to be scrapping for pitchers for their rotation who have one good spring training and a career 4.76 ERA.
Yes, we need depth. Yes, Criswell isn’t enough, but I would call a 4.76 ERA as depth. There are cheap options out there that are more effective.
And starting Whitlock over Winck is asinine. Whitlock belongs in the pen and has been a mediocre starter.
If he was so good for the Pirates (albeit a small sample size and not all MLB talent), then why did you drop him? Honestly..
By the way, that was nothing against the Pirates organization. If anything, I was saying they dropped him to show that they have far better options.
I would prefer neither Winck or Whitlock start, but of the two, Whitlock is the much better choice. He was crushing it this spring, Winck looked awful as a starter
Apologies. Guess I’m sensitive after so many years in the doldrums here
Good point, I haven’t really watched them in the spring. I suppose it could go either way, I’ve just seen Whitlock’s success in the pen and always assumed Winck was built as a starter.
Winck can’t be a starter, his stuff diminishes too much. He gets no strikeouts either way so him throwing 96-98 is way more important
I’m fine with whatever I suppose, I just prefer Whitlock in the pen, but then again, I’m not the manager. The bigger issue at hand is why we signed Chase Anderson.
Their bad starting rotation is only rivaled by Anaheim.
Angels have Reid Detmers and Canning, who look promising. They have pretty high k rates
*points towards New Comisky*
The Rockies would like you to hold their beer.
3rd place Cy Young after putting up 178 IP of 2.27 ERA ball. He blows out his arm striking out Shohei Ohtani to end Game 7 of the WS and never plays again.
Bobby Dalbec WS MVP.
Hayzee – Casas and Devers both win Gold Gloves.
Add in Yoshida Fever as the team trades for JDM to DH after the Mets fall out of the NL East race. The cost: Anthony…
dewey – Ha! I was originally gonna add him to the GG list, my bad for forgetting the JDM trade.
Wall Street MVP
What are you even talking about?
Alternate universe.
How will he strike out a guy who will be banned for life from baseball?
In Fantasy, anything is possible.
Including the fantasy that Ohtani will be banned for life from baseball.
Yes as A Jay’s fan
I feel bad for the guy that gets squeezed out for… Chase Anderson. Weird move
Red Sox fans should be disappointed. This move is hardly a game changer.
We were disappointed long before this signing
According to Baseball Reference Anderson is similar to Giolito. The Sox won’t miss him now!
Chase “Batting Practice” Anderson
How can Anderson be similar to Giolito when Giolito’s career FIP is a run higher than Anderson’s? Not seeing any logic in that statement. Giolito has at least had a fairly respectable career.
Full throttle dumpster diving
They Chased right after him.
Very solid move. Looking at the depth chart they desperately needed to pick someone up. I’m glad they didn’t cheap out once again
Tres – Sox have upped their offer to Monty, unlimited chowdah at Legal Seafood now included. But only on Tuesdays.
At this point just Dana Kiecker
WGAF
*sign* Dana Kiecker at this point
You want the red sox to give a 30 yr old above average pitcher a seven year contract?
aggee – All that matters is total guaranteed dollars.
Personally I think $150M/6 is reasonable.
If he is hellbent on 7 years, then lower the AAV to $21.5M.
It 100% is the guaranteed years. They don’t want to sign a 30 yr old pitcher to a seven year contract. It’s obvious they don’t care about the AAV since they well over paid for giolito. It was a short term contract. There’s a reason why Snell signed a short term deal late in the off-season and Montgomery is still sitting at home. Teams don’t want to commit to long term contracts to 30 yr old players, especially average players.
aggee – I see why you added that last qualifier of “average player”, which of course you’re implying Montgomery is.
Ironically, it’s often teams that want to sign free agents to extra-long contracts because it brings down the AAV for CBT purposes. Again, total contract value is all that really matters.
Why do you think the Padres gave Xander an 11-year contract at Age 30.
The Padres gave him that contract because they were desperate to sign a big name and he wanted a long term contract so they folded and gave him that contract. If the padres would’ve been able to land judge bogaerts bank account would be alot lighter. His contract is $25 million per year., there’s no way I believe that you think he would get a higher AAV on a shorter term deal. He’s not worth $25mil a year on a long term deal, let alone more than that on a shorter term deal. Players have been seeking 10+ year contracts for awhile this isnt new. The reason I called Montgomery average is because… he’s average. There’s nothing special about this guy yet red sox fans are going crazy bc Henry and company don’t want to give him a seven year deal. Guess who else doesn’t think he’s worth the contract he’s asking for? The rest of the MLB. Yall are acting like hes sandy Koufax and should be paid whatever he ask for. Lol Like I said, there’s a reason he’s sitting at home.
Can someone do a wellness check of Craig Breslow? This is a waste of a roster spot.
It’s Chaim Breslow. And I agree, which is why I already posted it was a wasted spot
The fact that the Sox signed Anderson 30 seconds after the Pirates released him says their pitching situation IS that dire…
Clevinger is waiting on line 2…
More to do with how much they’re willing to spend. If they’re desperate, it’s their own doing.
BOS taking a page out of Cleveland’s book: now league minimum for ANYONE is just too much money. We can’t afford that.
Henry and Co. Are amassing as much young talent as they can and then they will make their championship run!
It’s going to be a h*** of a battle for last place this season and the Red Sox aren’t even close to competing for that title.
It’s all about the bottom line.
Only a few more days to the beginning of the greatest Red Sox season EVER!!!!( for our opponents) Red Sox shock the Nation!! ( and bring back Brais in trade for Bello) Cora Named manager of the year!!( by Dunks) and OLMTIANT moves to LA to become the next Rodney Dangerfield!!! Only one has a chance to become true( okay 2 if Cora beats out Ben A)
Olm – I get no respect, no respect I tell ya!
Last night my dog was watching my wife and I in bed.
He learned from me how to beg, and my wife taught him how to roll over and play dead!
Let me tell ya… I don’t my wife loves me anymore.. last night the house was on fire.. the dog was barking the kids were screaming I heard her say shh. You’re gonna wake daddy…. No respect at all…..
It’s getting bad when a Pirates cast-off immediately gets picked up on a ML deal by Boston. Confusing….they have the money, or don’t they?
The corresponding move on the 40-man will be to move Giolito, Hendricks, or Murphy to the 60-day DL. Anderson will pitch multi-inning mop up. So what….
Multi-inning mop up is a pitcher every team needs when the starter gets hammered. Why waste innings from your competitive bullpen pitchers in games that you trail by large amounts. If Anderson can pitch 4 or 5 innings in a game the Red Sox were already loosing, then there is real value in saving the rest of the bullpen!
“Yankees chase Anderson in the 7th.”
team – I am having visions of Yankee pitcher Chase Wright, who gave up 4 consecutive homeruns in Fenway.
A Major League deal!? Seriously!?!? He can’t have options left he’s been in the league too long so that means he’s making the team!? I’m less upset about him in particular and more upset about who it means isn’t going to make the team… just simple math would suggest they didn’t have a spot for another P so unless another injury has come up I’m skeptical.
Though now having said all that… its possible they’ve decided that either (or both) Jansen or Martin will start on IL thus giving 1 (or 2) additional spots for a week or two. That and his ability to go multiple innings might really just be a way to give Criswell (who I’m not a huge fan of but have to admit pitched well in camp) the chance to stay stretched out and consistent starts in AAA while maintaining a long relief arm in case of SP failure — which let’s be honest is likely at least once out of the 5, 4 excluding Bello, inexperienced or volatile arms currently in the rotation. (I do have hope for Houck and Whitlock… but it’s shut up and put up time as SPs at this point for the duo)
Jeff – Your second paragraph answers the question why the Red Sox signed him. They were very, very short on depth. The fact that loosing Giolito caused such concern and such a ripple effect on the entire pitching staff, show adding an experienced MLB pitcher was necessary.
I am still waiting for the wave of people selling their season Tickets.With the griping and boycotting that is planned.I may actually be able to get a few tickets to get to Fenway for the second time in my life.Should get good seats if none of the rest of the fans will be there.
Sox 87 wins. Bank on it
87 wins including Spring training.
BOYCOTTING EVERYTHING REDSOX & FSG until we sign 2 Aces & a #2
lol, there weren’t even two aces in free agency this year.
MLB shows the contract as a minor league deal. Look under the injuries section
Now they need Julio Theran and Zach Davies for the rotation.
At the end of the day, garbage is garbage. I would rather have Andrew Bailey try to get more out of younger pitchers. If they’re going for cheap out, skew young and commit to it. Don’t stockpile garbage has-beens.
Nothing about this will take away from the young pitchers. Anderson’s just there for garbage time innings and spot starting. If somebody forces a roster crunch they’ll cut him without a second thought
Sure, but his ERA since 2020 is over 6.00. It just seems like an inexperienced pitcher could produce the same or better with instruction.
Time to cancel NESN, visit Yankee Stadium….
I still can’t believe I paid over $300 for one year of NESN 360 (3 times the cost of most movie apps!) just to watch this probably horrid 2024 version of the Red Sox. Impossible to justify to my wife so I don’t even try. At least bring the streaming cost down to real world levels if they want viewers.
“Darling. It’s way less than what you pay for your monthly haircut ! I’ll cancel my subscription if you start using my clippers.”
Used to work for me…..then I got divorced.
Hang tough, Sox fans.
The costs actually are about the same. Her stylist is a crook.
So he can’t crack the Pirates squad, but he can score a major league contract with Boston??? What does that say about how far the Sox have fallen. Smfh. SELL THE TEAM JOHN HENRY !
The new Boston A’s! Sad to see a team fall like this! It’s going to be a long summer in Boston.
Now the MLB site says one year deal. No longer says minor league. Weird.
We have used to be known as the most knowledgeable fans in baseball and now sound like a bunch of entitled whiny brats. Imagine 25 years ago someone saying Redsox were going to win 20% of next 20 ws. Unbelievable. Its a youth movement and they are not overpaying for mediocrity
Rick – You people said the exact same thing 4 years ago, remember?
Remember how you defended Bloom and Henry from October 2019 through 2023, saying they are making great decisions and supporting the trading of Mookie and replacing Xander with Story etc etc.
Guess what? Red Sox Nation was proven correct and you people were proven to be totally full of crap. Last place three out of four years, Bloom got fired, nobody with experience wanted to replace him, and right now every preseason projection has them finishing last yet again.
So yeah, Red Sox Nation is knowledgeable enough to know the franchise has gone in the toilet and the owner doesn’t give a crap as long as the bottom line is to his liking.
Meanwhile the Red Sox have become so concerned about the lack of ticket sales for Opening Day that they even moved the 20th anniversary celebration to Opening Day with the hope it will sell more tickets. Talk about a pathetic desperation move by a once-great franchise that has become the laughingstock of MLB.
So they can take their “youth movement” and shove it right up their cheapskate butt.
They did exactly what they wanted. Rebuild. They have a great young nucleus from devers/casas to mayer teel. Now they can spend accordingly going forward. Remember, 2 yrs ago they were a pitch from going to the WS. (Whitlock- altuve). Im 100% fine with what they are doing.
They have been rebuilding for three years now. Last place finishes in 3 of 4 years. This is a major market city not a third rate baseball city like Tampa. This is going to be a long long year. We had a great nucleus in 2018 but fired Dombroski and brought in Bloom who traded our best player for garbage. Let Benintendi go for garbage as wel. One lucky over reach year in 2021 and last place finishes after thst
Rick – Since they currently have a solid young core of Devers/Bello/Duran/Houck/Casas/Crawford/Rafaela (all of whom were acquired pre-Bloom) why didn’t they spend this past offseason to supplement it? How many more years of “rebuilding” will we have to suffer through? They’ve recently talked of trying to win when MAT are solidified starters, but that won’t be until after the 2025 season at the earliest. It’s stall tactics, pure and simple.
Remember, 2021 was fueled by nearly all the players Bloom inherited (JD, Barnes, Devers, Eovaldi, Xander, ERod, Houck, etc.) Only Devers and Houck remain.
Signing this guy means one of Wink or more likely Weissert doesn’t make the opening roster. It should be Wink that goes down to Worcester to continue to start and work on his starting repertoire. Weissert has looked really good this spring.
Bruin – Sending Winck down doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons.
Pivetta and at least one of Houk and Whit will be in the rotation, therefore Winck will be needed in the pen.
Winck will be a long reliever which means he could join the rotation at any time.
Winck’s repertoire as a long reliever is not any different than a starter. Pitchers who are being converted from short to long are required to work on stretching out their innings in the minors, Winck won’t need to do that. He will be doing essentially what Pivetta did last year, coming into games early and pitching several innings.
And certainly Winck won’t benefit from the lesser competition in AAA, not to mention he wouldn’t be happy losing service time.
Anderson was signed to be the long guy. If they want to develop Wink as a closer then he needs to go to Worcester. If they are content to have him as a second long reliever then so be it. This means that Weissert didn’t make it and he was really good this spring.
Bruin – When I wrote they will need Winck in the pen, I meant they will need somebody good.
Over the past 4 years Chase has a 6.19 ERA and 1.464 WHIP.. He’s also been with 8 other teams during that time. If Bailey and Breslow really think THEY will be the ones who can finally fix him after all those other teams tried, then I will put them on my personal Mt Rushmore.
Why?
This team will be in the cellar by May. Full throttle all right. Spendlow Beslow at the behest of Henry who wants to take all of the profits now. This team he fielded is an embarrassment to a major baseball city like Boston. Unbelievable!
I come here for the negative overreactions by whining crying fan base who always have their glass “half empty”.
In other news, Rumor has it that Pete Rose is blaming his “interpreter” for the bets that were placed and is looking for reinstatement immediately.
Also, Ohtani has elected to defer all gambling debt payments for next 30 years..
I hate this team now