The Atlanta Braves reportedly traded relief pitcher Nick Anderson to the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations on Friday, per Mark Feinsand of MLB Network and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The trade comes after Atlanta dealt a number of players away for relief pitcher Aaron Bummer from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Atlanta was able to open up their roster with that trade, and they acquired a key reliever in the process. However, the decision to trade Anderson is fairly surprising.
Anderson is under team control through 2025. He is 33-years old, but the right-hander is still a reliable pitcher in the bullpen.
Why did the Braves trade Nick Anderson?
Anderson has dealt with injury trouble over the pat few years. He did record a quality 3.06 ERA across 35 appearances for the Braves in 2023 though.
Additionally, Anderson was once regarded as one of MLB's best relievers while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2019-2021. Injuries began to play a big role in Anderson's career during that 2021 campaign though, as he pitched in only six games. He ended up missing all of 2022 before returning to a big league mound in 2023 with Atlanta.
It would not be surprising to see Anderson moved again since the Royals are not trying to compete right now amid their rebuild. Perhaps Kansas City will consider trading him away this offseason, or they could try to make a move prior to the 2024 trade deadline.
The Royals added Aroldis Chapman before the 2023 season, and the team later traded him to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. KC could take a similar approach with Anderson.
As for the Braves' decision to trade Anderson, it seemingly came down to room in the team's bullpen, according to David O'Brien of The Athletic.
“Even though Anderson was projected to make a relatively modest $1.6 million in arbitration, the #Braves already have seven relievers locked into spots in their bullpen, and preferred having some flexibility rather than committing another salary and spot to another reliever,” O'Brien wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Braves will likely continue their busy offseason moving forward following this trade.
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