Rockies to select Nick Anderson

The Rockies are set to select the contract of right-hander Nick Anderson from Triple-A Albuquerque, as first reported by Chase Ford of MiLB Central. Colorado is off today while traveling to Baltimore for a three-game set against the Orioles, so the move might not be formally announced until tomorrow.

Anderson, 35, signed a minor league pact with Colorado back in late May. He spent the early portion of the season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A club after originally signing a minor league deal with St. Louis. He opted out of that deal before landing with the Rox.

A veteran of five big league seasons, Anderson has an outstanding track record of results in the majors but a poor track record of health. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s missed time with a shoulder strain, an internal brace procedure on his right ulnar collateral ligament, plantar fasciitis, a back strain and forearm inflammation.

When healthy enough to take the field, Anderson has pitched 158 1/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA, a 31.6% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. He boasts an excellent 34.1% opponents’ chase rate and 15.4% swinging-strike rate in his big league career.

Anderson has pitched 11 1/3 innings with the Rockies’ Triple-A club and allowed six runs on 13 hits and six walks (three intentional) with 15 strikeouts. It comes out to a 4.76 ERA, though nearly all of the damage against him came in one nightmare outing where he yielded four runs to the Padres’ Triple-A club without recording an out.

The Rockies’ 4.91 bullpen ERA is fifth-worst in the majors, and over the past month they’re at a 5.87 mark that ranks 28th in MLB. Jake Bird, their most effective reliever for much of the season, has run into a particularly rough patch over the past 30 days (10 runs in 8 2/3 frames). It’s not a surprise to see Colorado taking a look at a fresh arm.

Beyond that, it’s quite possible that some members of the bullpen will be shipped off to new clubs in the week between now and the July 31 trade deadline. Recent struggles notwithstanding, Bird stands as a logical trade candidate alongside veterans Tyler Kinley and Jimmy Herget. If the Rockies want to go a step further, controllable power arms like Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik would surely command prominent interest. Vodnik is controlled through 2029, however, while Halvorsen is controlled all the way through 2030.