Should The Brewers Target Recently Non-Tendered 3B Brian Anderson?

In the blink of an eye, the tender deadline has passed. The Brewers had to make decisions on 18 arbitration eligible players this year. Ultimately, they parted ways with four relievers and added another one through a trade with the Rays.

Across the league, there is now an assortment of eligible players that until yesterday were not available. One of those players is third baseman Brian Anderson. He is an intriguing player that the Brewers may look to target.

Why should the Brewers target Brian Anderson?

For the Marlins, up until the past few seasons, Brian Anderson had been a very solid player in their lineup and was a gold glove candidate in 2020. He is a career .256 hitter with 57 home runs, 233 RBI, 106 doubles, and a 107 wRC+ over six seasons.

Unfortunately injuries have slowed him down a bit each of the past two seasons. Over the past two years, Anderson has landed on the injured list six different times. With health concerns, slightly declining performance, and a projected $5.2MM salary for his final year of arbitration, the Marlins elected to non-tender him.

It is possible that a new start and a fully healthy season could help revitalize Anderson's career. When healthy, he has contributed stats lines around a .260-.270 batting average, 20 home runs, mid-60 RBI totals, and a great walk to strikeout ratio. He isn't a player you build your offense around, but he can be a steady contributor.

How would adding Brian Anderson impact the Brewers infield?

If the Brewers were to add Brian Anderson, it would almost have to be for an everyday role. Anderson does have the defensive flexibility to play right field as well, but is best suited in the infield. As the current depth chart stands, this would leave Luis Urias as the odd man out.

However, if the Brewers were to acquire Anderson it could open up a lot of possibilities for Matt Arnold. Teams have already been calling regarding the availability of Kolten Wong. If the Brewers were to deal Wong, who has one year on his contract left, that could slide Urias over to second base. Brice Turang could then provided utility infield depth.

The exact intentions that Matt Arnold has for Wong are unknown, but he has referenced him as a championship caliber player and there currently is an implied notion that Wong will be on the Brewers Opening Day 2023 roster. If this is the case, then adding Brian Anderson may not make sense at this time.

We will have to wait and see if the Brewers elect to target him or not. If they do, hearing announcer Brian Anderson give the play-by-play of player Brian Anderson's actions would be quite the treat.