Why Pittsburgh Pirates Should Take a Gamble on Brett Anderson

On paper, the Pittsburgh Pirates' 2015 pitching rotation currently features only three men with considerable experience as major league starters: Gerrit Cole, Jeff Locke and Vance Worley.  

Needless to say, there needs to be work done in order for Pittsburgh to return to the playoffs for the third consecutive season.  

While it is unlikely that general manager Neal Huntington and the Pirates will be willing to pay the big bucks for prize free-agent pitchers such as Max Scherzer or James Shields, there are a number of low-risk, high-reward pitchers on the market.  

Having said that, it may be wise of Huntington to look into signing left-handed starting pitcher Brett Anderson.  

The 26-year-old southpaw was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft.  Less than a year later, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics, and by 2009, he was pitching in the big leagues.  

That year, Anderson started 30 games for the Athletics, going 11-11 with an ERA of 4.06, which was respectable for a rookie pitching a full season.  

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Anderson showed a lot promise throughout his rookie campaign, but unfortunately for him, he has been riddled by injuries ever since, failing to start at least 20 games in every season since.  

In eight starts as a member of the Colorado Rockies in 2014, Anderson went 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA.  His season ended abruptly due to a back injury that required season-ending surgery.  

Aside from injuries to a pitcher's throwing arm, the scariest pitching injury for any general manager to consider is an injury to the back, as it can alter a pitcher's technique which in turn negatively impacts his performance on the mound.  

At the same time, if Anderson can pass a physical and prove that he is healthy, signing him could pay huge dividends for the Pirates in 2015.  

Due to the fact that he missed almost the entire season in 2014, Anderson should not be seeking a lot of money on the free-agent market.  Instead, expect him to seek a deal similar to the one the Pirates gave Edinson Volquez in 2014, as he is a prime example of a pitcher who bounced back from past injuries to pitch brilliantly in 2014.  

Volquez pitched 192.2 innings in 2014, his highest single-season total since he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 2008.  The Pirates signed him to a one-year deal worth $5 million  prior to the start of this past regular season.  

Could the Pirates make a similar offer to Anderson?  Absolutely.  At only 26 years of age, he still has years of potential success ahead of him.  

More importantly, the Pirates' only proven lefty starter right now is Jeff Locke, as Francisco Liriano will be set to hit the free-agent market if he rejects the qualifying offer.  

Even if Liriano does accept the qualifying offer or sign a new multi-year deal with the Pirates, the organization should consider taking the gamble on a pitcher like Anderson.  

Of course, if the Pirates were to sign him, he could just get injured again early on in the season, as he has in the past.  

Still, what harm would offering him a one-year deal at a low cost inflict on this organization?  There would be a very low risk in signing him to a short contract, but the rewards could be huge, as they were with Volquez in 2014.

While Anderson should not be at the top of the Pirates' free agents to sign this offseason, they should definitely keep him in mind, as he could bolster a pitching staff that is low on left-handed pitchers.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference