Just two days after the Atlanta Braves claimed relief pitcher Ian Anderson off waivers, the team has designated him for assignment, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Anderson did not appear in a game during his brief second stint with Atlanta.
It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Anderson, who the Braves traded to the Los Angeles Angels at the end of spring training for Jose Suarez, after he failed to make the team. He then made seven appearances for the Angels before they designated him for assignment last week. The Braves picked him up before almost immediately letting him go again.
“This is like home to me,” Anderson said of his return, according to Owen Perkins of MLB.com. “I was in Spring Training with all these guys. So it feels great coming back here. There's so much familiarity. I’m going to be trying to tap into more of the positive results I've had this year and just get things going.”
In those seven appearances for the Angels — his first Major League innings since 2022 — Anderson allowed 13 runs over 9.1 innings, issuing seven walks and ceding two home runs.
It's been a tough fall for Anderson, once a World Series hero in Atlanta. In 2021, he was a starter for the Braves, and in four postseason starts, went 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He started Game 3 of the 2021 World Series, firing five shutout innings in a win over the Houston Astros. The Braves won the series in six games to capture their first title since 1995.
But Anderson came back the next year and struggled for Atlanta, pitching to a 5.00 ERA before the Braves demoted him for good that season. The next spring, he underwent Tommy John surgery and has not returned to the big leagues since.
Anderson was the third overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft and was once regarded as an elite prospect. He made his MLB debut in 2020, pitching 32 innings in the COVID-shortened season. Now 27 years old, Anderson will either clear waivers and possibly accept a minor league assignment or the Braves can trade him again.