Pirates Trade Lefty Tyler Anderson (AGAIN!) This Time to Seattle for Two Single A Players (For Real)

7-27-21 – By Gary Morgan

Tyler Anderson was a perfectly executed sign and flip player. He had a decent history, much of it spent in Colorado, but still he was a bet, one that Ben Cherington hoped would pay off. Of course this type of thing rarely does turn out, but it can’t be argued, this one was a roaring success.

Anderson provided a veteran presence, consistency and in a year it matters more than most, innings. Now he has provided more talent to the system, by way of a deal with the Phillies.

Now, earlier today I wrote up the deal the Pirates had in place with the Phillies. It was finalized according to multiple sources but apparently a medical issue with one of the two prospects below shut the deal down. I’m going to leave the proposed return here for context and I’ll leave in my original take too. This story unfolded in a weird way, might as well be presented in that fashion as well. You can find them below the actual deal with Seattle.

The Actual Deal with Seattle

OK, well this was a weird journey. Tyler Anderson is a Mariner.

Carter Bins is a Catcher and outfielder who has put together a nice season in High A before his recent promotion to AA. He’s still listed as an outfielder but hasn’t played there since 2019. This move satisfies something the Pirates were trying to get done, solidifying the catching group in the lower levels into a formidable group of four. Bins will likely be the 2nd or 3rd ranked catcher in the system, but arguably could get here before anyone else. Defensively, he’s said to be a good receiver of the ball, but his caught stealing figures (16%) in Single A and (20%) in Double A aren’t scaring runners into staying put.

Joaquin Tejada is a total lottery ticket. He’s 18 years old, by a couple days and has all of 5 innings pitched in the DOSL.

For the Pirates, it’s clear the catcher was something they coveted, it’s rare when you have two deals to compare and that’s something we can use to our advantage to see what they’re up to.

My Take on the Seattle Deal

It’s a little less interesting than the deal they had set up with Philly. But still not a bad return for a rental. In fact if I didn’t have the benefit of seeing what almost was, I’d simply say, I’m pretty happy with this deal. It addresses getting a worthwhile catching prospect a bit closer to MLB, and how can you evaluate an 18 year old who has pitched one game really.

The First Deal with Philadelphia

Cristian Hernandez is arguably the biggest chip in this package and is currently Philly’s number 29 Prospect. The 20 year old right handed pitcher currently in Single A pitched well in his pro debut back in 2018 before missing all of 2019 with injury and 2020 with the MiLB shutdown.

He’s appeared in 14 games, 12 of which were starts racking up 74 strike outs and 22 walks in 56.2 innings. He has tools are all above average but nothing jumps off the charts as overwhelming.

Abraham Gutierrez is a 21 year old high A Catcher and DH has a nice record of seeing the ball well and this season in 213 plate appearances has a .285 average with 9 doubles and 5 homeruns. His most impressive stat might be his 36 walks to 29 strike outs.

Defensively he has 3 errors and a caught stealing percentage of 24%. Scouts seem to think he can stick at catcher but his bat will decide whether it matters or not.

My (Philly) Take

Anderson did exactly what he was supposed to do and we as fans should all be very grateful for his service. He’s been a consummate pro and on top of that returned a couple prospects. Both of these players are again in need of rule five protection, but at this point we simply need to stop worrying about it until the dust settles.

It’s not a bad move, to turn a rental pitcher into someone’s top 30 player plus another lottery ticket it’s hard to complain.

On the surface, most people will assume the Bucs got more for Clay Holmes than they did Tyler Anderson, which I guess I can chalk up to a couple things. 1. Most of you thought Clay Holmes sucked and the return could have been a Gumby doll and a book of stamps, you’d celebrate. The fact they got two guys some of you heard of and Yankees fans were sad (hint they always are) it came across as ‘awesome’. 2. Many of you seemed to think because Anderson was decent here he was somehow worth extending so of course two single A players seems light.

Hernandez is the real get here. Truth is, if you like Eddy Yean, these are very similar players in their development. Gutierrez adds to catching depth that despite picking Henry Davis first overall still needs attention.

Overall, good move and return for a rental pitcher. Have to understand the value of control, and the Pirates have none here.

I expect Richard Rodriguez to drop soon, the Blue Jays and Phillies are both seemingly countering each other and that can only mean good things for the Bucs.