Elephant Rumblings: A’s sign reliever Nick Anderson to minors pact

SB Nation

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you’re all ready for a nice relaxing weekend.

The A’s made their first addition to the organization on Wednesday evening in a transaction that almost slipped by unnoticed. The club

came to terms with their first free agent of the winter, inking relief pitcher Nick Anderson to a minor league deal for the upcoming 2026 season.

And so begins the bullpen rebuild/reload. It certainly won’t be the last but now the front office has gotten the ball rolling on what should be an offseason focused on pitching. The starting rotation at least has options. The bullpen, which was the club’s weakest link for most of the season, needs warm bodies.

Now 35, Anderson has experience in parts of six big league seasons. He made his major league debut in 2019 and then became one of the Tampa Bay Rays’ best relievers during the shortened 2020 season. After making seven straight appearances for the Rays during that postseason run it seemed like Tampa Bay had discovered yet another pitching gem from the minor leagues.

Unfortunately for both sides Anderson would suffer a partial tear in his elbow ligament early in the 2021 campaign, costing him all but a few games in the final month. He then spent the entirety of the ‘22 season with the Rays’ Triple-A squad, struggling to rediscover his form from just a couple years prior.

The right-hander would move on to the Atlanta Braves the next season and began looking like he’d put his elbow injury in the past. He pitched to a solid 3.06 ERA across 35 games but saw that campaign end early again, this time due to a shoulder problem.

He would be on the move again that offseason as the Braves traded him to the Royals for cash. He’d make it into 37 games for KC, posting a 4.04 ERA in 35 2/3 frames before getting DFA’d in July. He’d spend most of the rest of that season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate; he also pitched a bit for the Orioles’ minor league team.

Anderson joins the Athletics after spending 2025 bouncing between three organization’s minor league systems. He began the year with the Cardinals before getting DFA’d yet again. This time he’d land with the Colorado Rockies, a team always in need of pitching. He’d make it back to the big leagues and pitch in 12 contests but again didn’t last the season. He’d finish the year in the minors, again, this time in Seattle’s system.

Now his next stop is an Athletics team searching for answers to their bullpen woes. The A’s currently have five right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster and only three of them had ERA’s below 4 this past season. And the three that did get under 4.00 have less-than-stellar track records in the big leagues. The Athletics need bullpen help in a big way, but since they won’t be playing at the top of the market for high-priced closers they’ll need to be smart and identify guys that can provide value without breaking the bank.

Anderson fits that bill. He’s had success in the major leagues before and for just $1 million it’s an extremely affordable gamble for the A’s to take. It’s a nice little first step to get started for the winter. Evidently Anderson was also ready to join a team that has spots available in the bullpen, and when Spring Training rolls around it wouldn’t be in the least bit shocking to hear that Anderson could have a leg up on some of the younger relief options on the roster as of today.

It’s the first signing and won’t make-or-break the A’s next season but it’s a worthwhile gamble. If the A’s can get the 2020 version of Anderson then they’d have a high-leverage option for the later innings, something they don’t have right now. And if it all works out as hoped but the A’s still fall out of contention, then he can always be flipped for prospect capital. This deal looks like it should work out well for all sides.

And one final noteworthy piece of news: first baseman Nick Kurtz isn’t just a Silver Slugger or Rookie of the Year, he’s also your All-MLB second-team first baseman!

First-team honors predictably went to the bigger name up North in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but one has gotta think Kurtz can surpass him next year. We can’t wait to see how he follows up his historic rookie campaign!

Have a great last day of the work/school week all!

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