Mariners acquire Tyler Anderson from Pirates

Update: Tuesday’s trade between the Phillies and Pirates involving Tyler Anderson hit a snag. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic initially reported that a medical issue with one of the two prospects heading from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh was the reason for the hold-up. Anderson was seen throwing a bullpen in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, several hours after the trade was initially reported. Then, later in the evening, Pittsburgh pivoted and instead traded Anderson to the Mariners.

In return for Anderson, the Mariners are sending minor league catcher Carter Bins and right-handed pitcher Joaquin Tejada to the Pirates.

Bins has struggled since his recent promotion to Double-A but still possesses an impressive power tool. Meanwhile, little is known about the profile of Tejada, an 18-year-old with just five innings of DSL action under his belt.

Tyler Anderson has been traded, but he won’t have to travel far. The Pittsburgh Pirates have dealt the starter to the Philadelphia Phillies. The move comes with less than 72 hours until the 2021 MLB trade deadline. In return for Anderson, the Phillies are sending right-handed pitcher Cristian Hernandez and catcher Abrahan Gutierrez to the Pirates, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Anderson is a talented pitcher with a good fastball and low walk rates. Through eight starts this season, he owns a 4.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 20 percent strikeout rate. His 5.8 percent walk rate ranks better than 84 percent of MLB pitchers.

Anderson has done a good job improving his cutter. He threw the pitch just 18.1 percent of the time in 2020 when opponents were hitting .351 against it. Meanwhile, hitters have a .229 batting average when seeing the pitch this season, during which he has thrown it 29.1 percent of the time.

Headlining the return for the Phillies is 20-year-old right-hander Cristian Hernandez. He is 2-5 with a 3.49 ERA and 3.88 xFIP through 14 games (12 starts) at Single-A this year. The Venezuelan product, who ranks 29th in MLB Pipeline’s list of Phillies prospects, owns an 11.75 K/9 and 3.49 BB/9 rate so far. He signed for $120,000 in 2017 and boasts a fastball that has topped out at 97 mph.

Also heading back to the Phillies is Abrahan Gutierrez, a 21-year-old catcher who has looked solid at the Single-A level this season. Through 48 games, he is slashing .285/.418/.424 with five home runs, 29 RBI, a 13.6 percent strikeout rate, and an incredible 16.9 percent walk rate. The Phillies signed him as an international prospect out of Venezuela in 2016.

The Pirates have wasted no time in striking deals this week. They sent Adam Frazier to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, then flipped Clay Holmes to the New York Yankees on Monday—and they likely aren’t done.

The Phillies snagged a starter in Anderson but still have work to do themselves. Going forward, prioritizing bullpen help will be critical for Philadelphia. They are currently 3.5 games behind the first-place New York Mets and 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.