Bucs get 2 M's Minor Leaguers for Anderson

July 28th, 2021

PITTSBURGH -- After the Pirates had a trade fall through for , they reached an agreement on one with the Mariners, sending the left-hander to Seattle for catcher and right-hander Joaquin Tejada. The announcement was made early Wednesday morning, ending a chaotic day of speculation around Anderson.

Anderson was scratched from his start on Tuesday as the Pirates worked through a deal with the Phillies that would have sent two prospects to Pittsburgh, a source told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. However, a medical issue held up the negotiations, per a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, and the trade ended up stalling out.

Instead, the Pirates were able to find a deal with Seattle for two prospects with upside, one who is only a couple of steps from the Majors and one who is still at least a few years away.

Bins, 22, has produced an .832 OPS with 10 doubles and eight homers across High-A and Double-A this season, though he’s struggled to get going offensively in his first 11 games at the latter. He’s caught 13 runners attempting to steal in 2021 with 67 stolen bases against him.

Tejada, 18, has only pitched five innings in the pros, all at the Dominican Summer League level this season, after being signed in 2019 out of Panama. The 5-foot-11 hurler has a low-90s fastball and uses a curveball as his strongest secondary pitch.

Neither was ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Mariners prospects the time of the trade.

Anderson has been a reliable innings-eater for the Pirates, going at least five innings in each of his 18 starts while recording a 4.35 ERA in 103 1/3 innings. The 31-year-old left-hander throws only fastballs and changeups, but he’s able to manipulate batters with his arm slot and a unique leg kick that creates deception.

Anderson will be a free agent at the end of this season, making him a rental for the Mariners.