Proper-hander Drew Anderson has re-signed with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Group, per a membership announcement (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). Anderson will earn $1.2MM in 2025, with $50K out there in incentives.
Anderson, 30, final performed within the majors again in 2021. A Twenty first-round decide by Philadelphia within the 2012 draft, the righty made his large league debut in 2017 and spent the subsequent half-decade bouncing between the most important and minor leagues with the Phillies, White Sox, and Rangers organizations. In that point, he struggled to a 6.50 ERA in 44 1/3 innings of labor on the large league stage regardless of first rate peripherals, together with a 4.35 FIP. In the course of the 2021-22 offseason, Anderson was launched by the Rangers and opted in opposition to looking for a brand new stateside deal. As a substitute, he headed to Japan to pitch for Nippon Skilled Baseball’s Hiroshima Carp on a $1MM deal.
The precise-hander in the end spent two seasons in NPB, and pitched fairly effectively throughout that point. Anderson posted a 3.05 ERA in 115 innings throughout 34 appearances for the Carp in complete, placing out 20.7% of opponents whereas strolling simply 8.4%. That was sufficient to earn him some stateside consideration in the course of the 2023-24 offseason, and Anderson landed with the Tigers on a minor league deal again in January. The precise-hander didn’t make Detroit’s Opening Day roster, nonetheless, and after simply 9 appearances with Triple-A Toledo the Tigers agreed to launch him so he might head to South Korea and play for the Landers.
Anderson slotted into the Landers’ rotation alongside former large leaguers Kwang-Hyun Kim and Roenis Elias and pitched pretty solidly in his first 12 months of KBO play. Whereas the right-hander’s 3.89 ERA was hardly distinctive, his 115 2/3 innings of labor was his most in a season since 2018 and and he struck out a superb 31.9% of opponents confronted. That large uptick in strikeout charge got here with an elevated 10.7% stroll charge, however that firepower makes it simple to think about Anderson discovering better success with the Landers in 2025 and doubtlessly getting the eye of MLB golf equipment as soon as once more subsequent winter.
Ought to Anderson want to make it again to the large leagues, there’s actually cause for optimism that he’ll be capable to try this. The KBO has served as a proving floor for different hurlers who struggled of their first style of massive league motion previously. Merrill Kelly is one standout instance of a participant who pitched within the KBO earlier than returning to stateside ball to make a reputation for himself, and right-hander Erick Fedde landed a $15MM assure from the White Sox simply final offseason after a dominant 2023 marketing campaign in South Korea.
