Drew

Anderson

Anderson struck out four and gave up no hard-hit balls to the nine batters he faced. He’s pitched 11 scoreless frames with a 14/2 K/BB in four appearances this spring. It’s not going to get him a rotation spot unless something gets hurt, but he will make the Tigers as a middle reliever and he’s an AL-only sleeper.

Anderson sat just under 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and registered a 23 percent whiff rate on the pitch, which was nice to see. He also produced three whiffs on seven swings with his changeup but allowed three hard-hit balls in three innings of work. He figures to start the season in the bullpen since the Tigers’ rotation is full and he has no minor league options remaining.

Anderson, who spent the last four years in Asia, seemed like a strong candidate to be the Tigers’ fifth starter when he was signed for $7 million in December. Now, though, he’s due to open up in middle relief unless a starter goes down, and even then, the Tigers could pick Troy Melton over him as a rotation replacement. Anderson resembled a legitimate rotation candidate today while topping out at 96.7 mph with his fastball. His 95.3 mph average was up 2.8 mph from when he was last seen in the U.S. with the Rangers in 2021.

The Tigers were holding back just a little when they indicated that Olson might not be ready for Opening Day. This is really unfortunate, but it does explain why the Tigers felt they needed Justin Verlander on top of signing Framber Valdez. Olson was limited to 13 starts by shoulder issues last season. The 26-year-old has a 3.60 ERA in 53 starts and three relief appearances since debuting in 2023. His absence means it’s safe to pencil in a Tigers rotation of Tarik Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Verlander. Drew Anderson, Troy Melton and Keider Montero are next in line.

Olson strained his shoulder in July and had resumed throwing in December, but it now appears that he may not be ready to start the season. If Olson were to be delayed to start the season, that would mean that Drew Anderson and Troy Melton would battle for the fifth starter spot in Detroit.

What interesting timing, given that the Tigers are supposed to learn Thursday whether they’re paying Tarik Skubal $32 million or $19 million next season. Perhaps they got some early good news on that front. Valdez is receiving $38.33 million per year here on the short-term deal. He gets a $20 million signing bonus and an opt out after 2027, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. He’s set to join a rotation that would seem to be locked in with Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson, though the Tigers could look at moving Flaherty or Mize for a bat. As things stand now, neither Troy Melton nor Drew Anderson would be in line for a spot.

The deal is now official. Anderson returns stateside after spending the past two seasons overseas in Korea where he pitched to a sparkling 2.91 ERA across 287 1/3 innings over 54 starts. The journeyman righty, who turns 32 years old in late March, figures to open next year in Detroit’s rotation mix as a back-end stabilizer. He’s a name to watch in spring training but will likely go undrafted in most fantasy leagues outside of AL-only formats.

Anderson has spent the last two seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization with the SSG Landers outside of a brief nine appearances with Triple-A Toledo, and prior to that was pitching in Japan. The 31-year-old’s deal is pending a physical, but he could be an option at the back of the rotation or as a multi-inning reliever in 2026.

Anderson signed in Korea back in April, and the 30-year-old will remain overseas for at least the 2025 campaign.

Anderson hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2021 campaign when he made a career-high nine appearances (one start) for the Rangers. The 30-year-old righty heads back overseas after pitching well this season in nine relief appearances for Triple-A Toledo. He spent the last two years pitching for the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.