The Chicago Cubs on Thursday made official their one-year contract with Brett Anderson. His signing with the reigning World Series champions brings to an end Anderson’s brief tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He first signed with the club in December 2014 for $10 million deal. Anderson was coming off another injury-plagued season, but his one-year pact with the Dodgers presented minimal risk. The left-hander proceeded to turn in one of the best seasons of his career.
Anderson went 10-9 with a 3.69 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, an MLB-best 66.3 ground ball percentage, and set career highs in starts (31) and innings pitched (180.1). He gambled on another year of health by accepting the qualifying offer from the Dodgers.
However, the 2016 season came with doom, as Anderson underwent back surgery last March to repair a bulging disc. He didn’t come off the disabled list until August, only to suffer from multiple injuries.
As was previously reported, Anderson’s contract with the Cubs includes incentives based on number of starts, the details of which are provided via Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
Brett Anderson: 3.5M plus 500K for 11 games, 750K for 14 and 17, 1M for 20, 23 and 26, 1.5M for 29 games. 10M max #cubs
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 26, 2017
Anderson suffered a mild left wrist sprain and was removed after the first inning in last season’s debut. He’d already allowed five runs on five hits and threw 30 pitches in a rocky first inning of work.
The wrist injury didn’t prevent Anderson from making his next turn in the rotation, but it was another outing cut short due to injury. That time the southpaw was removed in the fourth inning due to a blister on his left index finger that had lingered since Anderson’s rehab assignment.
The Dodgers placed him on the 15-day DL on Aug. 23, and Anderson wasn’t reinstated until Sept. 22. The 28-year-old pitched twice more before the regular season concluded — allowing four runs on six hits in four innings in a start, then throwing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
In two seasons with the Dodgers, Anderson went a combined 11-11 with a 4.18 ERA in 35 games (34 starts).
Anderson has made 11 starts in four of his eight Major League seasons. Anderson’s career has been marred by a UCL tear, a stress fracture in his foot, and multiple broken fingers and back surgeries.
