Brewers Sign Brian Anderson – MLB Trade Rumors

Jan. 18: Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports that the deal is for one-year and $3.5MM, with up to $2MM in incentives.

Jan. 17: The Brewers are in agreement on a deal with free agent third baseman/corner outfielder Brian Anderson, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The deal is pending a physical. Anderson is a client of CAA Sports.

Anderson, 30 in May, had spent his entire career as a member of the Marlins. Selected in the third round of the 2014 draft, the University of Arkansas product reached the majors a little more than three years later. He debuted at the tail end of the 2017 season and established himself as Miami’s everyday third baseman the following year.

That marked the first of four straight years in which Miami would pencil him in at the hot corner on Opening Day. For his first three seasons, the right-handed hitter was a productive player on both sides of the ball. He hit at an above-average level every year between 2018-20, showing roughly average plate discipline and contact skills with quality hard contact numbers. Miami’s cavernous ballpark didn’t do him many favors from a home run perspective but he topped 30 doubles in both 2018 and ’19.

Overall, Anderson hit .266/.350/.436 in just over 1400 plate appearances through his first three full seasons. He paired that quality offense with average to slightly above par marks at the hot corner from public defensive metrics. While he wasn’t a star, Anderson looked the part of a solid regular who could factor into the Miami lineup at least throughout his arbitration seasons.

The past two years have been disappointing, though, largely thanks to injuries. Anderson missed extended chunks of the 2021 campaign with a pair of subluxations in his left shoulder. In 67 games when healthy enough to play, he managed only a .249/.337/.378 line. He had another pair of injured list stints last season — first for lower back spasms in June, then a six-week absence late in the summer for another left shoulder issue. Anderson appeared in 98 games but put up a career-worst .222/.311/.346 line through 383 trips to the plate.

Over the past two years, he’s hit a below-average .233/.321/.359 through 647 plate appearances. His strikeouts have gone up slightly but the greater concern is the lack of damage he’s done on contact. Anderson’s hard contact percentage has dipped a bit from its 2018-19 peak. He’s collected a combined 25 doubles over the past two seasons after…