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The Colorado Rockies made the expected move with starting pitcher Brett Anderson on Saturday, declining their $12 million option for the 2015 season and making Anderson a free agent.
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The Rockies made the right move with Brett Anderson. For a team that is strapped for cash, it would have been quite the stretch to exercise a $12 million option for a pitcher who was limited to eight starts last season and is coming off back surgery.
It was the right move, yet Anderson’s tenure in Colorado still feels incomplete. It feels like the Rockies had a lot of value in Anderson, even with those injuries, yet never got the most out of it. Some of that is just the bad luck of injuries, but this outcome still bugs me.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! reported the move:
Source: Rockies decline club option on LHP Brett Anderson. He will be a free agent, and one with a very strong market.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 1, 2014
Anderson was next, confirming the news himself.
Who has 2 thumbs and is a free agent...this guy.
— Brett Anderson (@_BAnderson30_) November 1, 2014
Finally there was the team, apparently in no hurry, that finally announced the news as official on Twitter.
#Rockies decline team option on left-handed pitcher Brett Anderson. Brett is now a free agent.
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) November 1, 2014
There might have been an argument to made to exercise the option to keep Anderson based solely on how good he was when he did pitch. Let’s not forget that the Rockies planned to exercise this club option for most of the summer, only changing their tune when he hurt his back and was forced to have season-ending surgery. Let’s go back to July for a moment and this report from Ken Rosenthal:
Brett Anderson starts tonight for #Rockies. Not a trade candidate. Team plans to pick up $12M option or sign him to longer deal.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
The team chose not to trade Anderson because of those plans, making it sting just a little bit more that they now felt they had to change course and lose him for nothing.
Part of this can be chalked up to bad luck, even if the Rockies were a bit naive given Anderson’s injury history. Maybe the team will be able to re-sign Anderson, but if not, he will head to free agency and likely sign elsewhere. Anderson went 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA in eight starts last season for the Rockies.