Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
As I mentioned in my previous article Scott Kazmir just got inked for $22 million over the next two seasons. That leaves the question if the A’s are looking to move Brett Anderson. He is a left-handed starter/reliever which could help the Nationals in both regards to off-season upgrades.
He has been moved to the bullpen for the most part since having Tommy John Surgery back in 2011 and a stress fracture that put him on the shelf a lot of last season. He could be a viable option for the Nats if they can get him cheap.
Anderson is only 25 and has never really been the star of a starting rotation. He has the ability to be great, but will the ability be there is the major question. He has seemed to fall way off after having Tommy John Surgery.
Is this worth it for the Nationals? I believe so. He is a low risk/high reward player that would make Mike Rizzo look like a genius if he signed him. If he comes over and throws 50 games out of the bullpen as a lefty reliever that is a win for the Nationals straight off the top before even looking at the numbers.
Another option is putting him into the fourth starter role and seeing how he does there. If it doesn’t work out, he again can move to the bullpen and be an arm Matt Williams can go to as well. Putting him in the rotation makes the rotation, right, left, right, left, right, which I really love. In a five or seven game series, that puts your team at an advantage, not having back to back of the same side arm.
It is a bit of a stretch but Rizzo should definitely look into it. He can’t really hurt if he can get him really cheap. Who knows he could go out and have a fantastic year and the Nationals and Rizzo look like the best front office in baseball for signing him.