Tyler Anderson decided to stay in Southern California, but it won’t be by taking the qualifying offer from the Dodgers. Instead, the left-hander has a three-year contract with the Angels, per multiple reports.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a multiyear contract, sources tell ESPN.
Anderson had been given the qualifying offer by the Los Angeles Dodgers but instead will head down I-5 and join the Angels’ rotation.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 15, 2022
The exact amount of the deal hasn’t yet been reported, but we have a range.
Tyler Anderson’s deal with the Angels is three years and $39 million, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 15, 2022
Tyler Anderson is in agreement with the Angels. Deal will come in around 3 yrs, $40M.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 15, 2022
Tuesday was the deadline for players to accept or decline the qualifying offer of one year at $19.65 million, the average of the top 125 contracts in the sport. The qualifying offer was extended to 14 major league players on November 10. Former Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner declined the offer as expected, as he’s one of the top free agents on the market.
Anderson had a career year in 2021 with the Dodgers after signing a one-year contract in March. The veteran left-hander began the season in the bullpen, but by the third week of the season was in the starting rotation and on the season led the team with 178⅔ innings pitched.
Anderson finished fifth in the National League with a 2.57 ERA, and made his first All-Star team at age 32. He set career bests in FIP (3.31), xERA (3.10), WHIP (1.002), and walk rate (4.8 percent).
The changeup was his best pitch — especially against right-handers — holding all hitters to a .179 batting average and .262 slugging percentage in at-bats ending on the pitch, along with 60 strikeouts. Anderson mixed that along with his four-seamer and cutter with aplomb. He led all pitchers with a minimum 250 batted ball events in both lowest average exit velocity (85 mph) and lowest hard-hit rate (28.5 percent).
This was Anderson’s first real chance to cash in after a career year. He made $8.5 million in 2022, including the $500,000 bonus he earned for pitching at least 100 innings, and in his seven major league seasons has earned roughly $16.5 million in total.
Various national free agent predictions had Anderson earning either a two- or three-year contract on the open market, but at a lesser average annual value than the one-year qualifying offer of $19.65 million.
Tyler Anderson free agent projections
| Predictor | Years | Total contract | Annual average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predictor | Years | Total contract | Annual average |
| Kiley McDaniel, ESPN | 2 | $33,000,000 | $16,500,000 |
| Ben Clemens, FanGraphs | 2 | $30,000,000 | $15,000,000 |
| Jon Heyman, NY Post | 3 | $50,000,000 | $16,666,667 |
| Jim Bowden, The Athletic | 2 | $24,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| FanGraphs median crowdsource | 3 | $43,500,000 | $14,500,000 |
In the 11-year history of the qualifying offer, the Dodgers have extended a dozen of them. Only two have accepted. Brett Anderson took a one-year, $15.8-million deal in 2015, and Hyun-jin Ryu got $17.9 million to stay in Los Angeles in 2019.
