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What Would It Take To Sign Brett Anderson?

By Hayden Kane |

The Colorado Rockies remain interested in starting pitcher Brett Anderson. What would it take to sign him?

The Rockies know that they have to get creative to build a starting rotation. They have to draft and develop, those magic buzz words that we always hear. But they also have to look for bargains when starting pitchers come available.

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With bargains come risks. That’s why they cost less. You have to look for reclamation projects or guys coming off injuries. You have to do your best to manage risk and to pick the guys who might turn things around on your watch.

These acquisitions can come via trade or via free agency. There will be the potential for a bust, but if the upside is worth it, these are the kinds of moves that can make all the difference for the Rockies.

We see examples of these kinds of signings around the league. The San Diego Padres signed Josh Johnson to a one-year, $8 million deal last season. It didn’t work out, but the thinking behind it still made sense. The Rockies need to think along those lines and get serious about bringing back free agent starting pitcher Brett Anderson.

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies maintain some interest in Anderson:

Bridich told me he has not ruled out making a run at oft-injured lefty Brett Anderson, whose $12 million contract option the Rockies declined to pick up. The thinking is that a less-expensive two-year contract might land Anderson, but the chances of him returning to Colorado as a free agent are slim.

At $12 million for 2015, Anderson didn’t make sense, hence why the Rockies declined that option. But at $6-8 million per season? That is a good buy. Anderson might command more than on the market, but the Rockies need to push hard to find out. And if Anderson tells them to buzz off because he doesn’t want to pitch in Colorado, then so be it.

In the FanSided Faux Winter Meetings, I signed Anderson for two years, $12 million. Certainly there would be more options for a real general manager to dress up that kind of short-term deal, adding incentives and options and the like, but what if that kind of contract is in the neighborhood of what it would take? That second year might hold real value to Anderson given his infamous injury history.

Brett Anderson’s upside might make a short-term deal too rich for the Rockies. But given that same upside and how he fits in Colorado, I sure hope the front office is staying in the hunt until Anderson signs somewhere else.

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