Dodgers News: Tyler Anderson Sheds Some Light on Contract Conversations with LA
Former Dodgers pitcher Tyler Anderson signed with the Angels earlier this week, turning down the one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer the Dodgers had extended. Anderson got a three-year, $39 million deal from Anaheim, and there were reports that while the Dodgers were interested in having the All-Star lefty back on a multi-year contract, they weren’t willing to go to three years.
On Thursday, Anderson talked with the media and shed a little light on how the process went down.
Should clarify, Anderson said those conversations with the Dodgers were about a multi-year deal. Didn’t want to divulge too much about the negotiations.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 17, 2022
Reading between the lines, it sounds like multiple teams offered Anderson three years but the Dodgers probably weren’t one of them. Anderson’s desire to finalize a deal before the deadline for accepting or rejecting the qualifying offer sounds pretty shrewd. The free-agent pitching market has some pretty big names, including Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Rodon, and a guy like Anderson could have gotten lost in the shuffle if he’d waited too long. The QO expiration date provided him and his agent a deadline for teams to submit their best offers, allowing him to be the first big name to come off the free-agent board.
The deal also gives Anderson some financial security he’s never had before. He’s made less than $17 million in his career thus far, and while that’s obviously a lot of money, when you factor in taxes and cost of living over the 11 years it took him to earn that, it’s right on the cusp of “set for life” money. At nearly 33 years old, this was Anderson’s one big shot at a big payday, so it makes sense that he jumped on it.
Tyler Anderson noted “a little more security” a few times explaining his answer with what he was weighing between the Dodgers’ qualifying offer and the Angels’ three-year deal. Said he feels the Angels have a chance to be good in 2023, as well.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 17, 2022
It will be interesting to watch Anderson’s performance over the next three years, now that we know (or at least suspect) the third year was the sticking point for the Los Angeles front office.
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This seems like one of those times where you can understand both points of view. Anderson did what he felt like he needed to do and the Dodgers made a necessary business decision, perhaps fearing this past season was a fluke. Tip of the hat to Tyler and I wish him the best of luck one county down.
Wait,what!? One county down? Don’t they purport to be the Los Angeles Angels? Is it gou and me who don’t know our geography…or Arte Moreno?
Perhaps I should have said one county to the south. And yes, I do think Arte, no matter how much money he has, is weak on Geography.
The Angels play in Anaheim, in Orange County, not in the city of Los Angeles or even the County of Los Angeles. Why he doesn’t just call them the NY Angels, since NY is the biggest market is beyond me, as it would make just a tiny bit less sense than the LA Angeles.
Well another factor is that the Dodgers probably feel like some of their minor league pitchers are going to promote in the near future, and with a possible rotation in 2024 of Buehler, Urias, Gonsolin, May plus any of those minor leaguers (plus a possible signing of a top SP), the rotation doesn’t need the luxury of re-signing Anderson. Best of luck to him though!
Going from $19.65 million to a contract that pays him $13 million because he doesn’t know if he’ll be good enough to earn good money after next year sounds like the opposite of “betting on yourself”. If he’s not confident he can replicate 2022 then I’d rather get a pitcher with more confidence in himself to replace him.
The contract could presumably have been structured so the third year was lower in value than the first two with the total at $39 mil. That makes more sense than pivoting to Verlander on a multiyear contract at age 40 for at predictably $30 mil per year for example. That kind of thinking is what gets GMs into real messes.
I seriously doubt that the Dodgers felt Anderson’s performance last year was a fluke.
Let’s be real here Tyler Anderson (I truly wish him the best) had almost a career year this year with the Dodgers maybe there are many reasons (all speculative) but by not only switching teams and even switching leagues maybe this keeps him a little ahead of teams in the NL West and NL all over from catching onto him if his season was a fluke.
He was the brightest bulb on the Tree in the Post season when the team needed him the most. Better than Urias , Kershaw and Gonsolin. Of Course the Dodgers let him go…
He was solid. They easily could have done Angels deal. Mistake by Dodgers.