Mariners Acquire Tyler Anderson From Pirates After Deal With Phillies Falls Through

Tyler Anderson’s next outing will come for a new team, but not the initially expected.

The Mariners swooped in and acquired Anderson from the Pirates late Tuesday night, hours after a reported deal between the Pirates and Phillies fell through after an apparent medical issue with one of the two prospects headed back to the Pittsburgh, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. 

Instead, the Mariners are sending two prospects, Double-A catcher Carter Bins and DSL righthander Joaquin Tejada, to Pittsburgh for the veteran lefty.

The deal continues Pittsburgh’s July selloff. It is the Pirates’ third trade in as many days after they agreed to send all-star second baseman Adam Frazier to the Padres on Sunday and shipped reliever Clay Holmes to the Yankees on Monday.

The Mariners have also been active. In a bit of a surprising move, Seattle sent RHP Kendall Graveman and RHP Rafael Montero to the AL West-leading Astros in exchange for 3B Abraham Toro and RHP Joe Smith. The two teams are currently playing each other and the Mariners are just one game out of a wild card spot. Trading Graveman to a division rival led to significant frustration in Seattle’s clubhouse, according to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish, but GM Jerry Dipoto hinted Tuesday that the two Seattle trades were the first in a succession of potential deadline moves. 

MARINERS RECEIVE

Tyler Anderson, LHP
Age: 31

Anderson has been a steady back-of-the-rotation starter throughout his career with the exception of an injury-shortened 2019 season. He went 5-8, 4.35 in 18 starts for the Pirates this season while posting his lowest walk rate (2.2 BB/9) since he was a rookie. Anderson mixes his low-90s fastball, mid-80s cutter and low-80s changeup to keep hitters off-balance. He doesn’t miss an overwhelming number of bats, but he keeps the ball on the ground and limits hard contact. Anderson will slot into the back of the Mariners rotation behind Chris Flexen, Yusei Kikuchi, Logan Gilbert and Marco Gonzales for the stretch run. He will be a free agent after the season.

PIRATES ACQUIRE

Carter Bins, C
Age: 22

Bins was arguably the most improved player in the Mariners system before they traded him to the Pirates. An 11th-round pick from Fresno State in 2019, he capably handled a high-octane staff at High-A Everett and projected to be an above-average defensive catcher with his improvements to his range, blocking and receiving. Offensively, he got a lot stronger to impact the ball more and is recognizing balls and strikes better than in previous years. He hit .284/.422/.493 at High-A Everett before receiving a promotion to Double-A Arkansas earlier this month. He projects to be a strong defensive catcher with good on-base skills at the plate.

Joaquin Tejada, RHP
Age: 18

Tejada is an athletic righthander with a 90-91 mph fastball and big spin and movement on his curveball and slider. He’s progressively gained velocity over the last year and is sgrowing into his body. He’s now closer to 175 pounds than his listed 160. Tejada draws rave reviews for his makeup and leadership skills. He’s only 5-foot-11, but he’s a plus athlete and is trending upward.