Left-hander Brett Anderson sat out the 2022 season, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports he’s preparing for a potential comeback next year. The veteran starter turns 35 in February.
Anderson appeared in the majors every year from 2009-21. He spent his first five seasons in Oakland before taking on more of a journeyman role by the 2014 campaign. Dealt to the Rockies during the 2013-14 offseason, he’d go on to appear with five different teams over the next five seasons. Anderson spent one year in Denver followed by two seasons with the Dodgers. He split the 2017 campaign between the Cubs and Blue Jays before heading back to Oakland.
The former second-round draftee spent the 2018-19 seasons with the A’s, throwing 176 innings (the second-highest total of his career) in the second season. After that year, Anderson inked a $5MM contract with the Brewers. He spent the abbreviated 2020 campaign in Milwaukee, then returned on a new $2.5MM pact for 2021.
Anderson made 24 starts during his second season with the Brew Crew, but the club limited him to 96 frames. He only faced an opponent for the third time in an outing on 43 occasions. That somewhat sheltered role paid off, as Anderson posted decent numbers in a hitter-friendly Milwaukee environment. He worked to a 4.22 ERA, only walking 6.8% of his opponents while racking up grounders on a massive 57.5% of batted balls. Anderson averaged under 90 MPH on his fastball and only struck out 14.2% of batters faced, but his go-to sinker remained effective at keeping the ball out of the air.
At year’s end, Anderson qualified for free agency. He seemingly didn’t pursue any opportunities, as there were no substantive reports of teams with interest last winter. Anderson never announced his retirement, however, and he’s apparently looking to get back to the highest level.
For his career, the Texas native owns a 4.07 ERA in 1140 1/3 innings. He allowed around four earned runs per nine innings in each season from 2019-21, and some clubs will presumably check in on his progress as he builds back toward game strength. Anderson will indeed have to take a minor league contract and may well have to conduct a showcase in front of scouts before signing, but it stands to reason he could secure an invitation to Spring Training at some point this offseason.
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