5 pitchers that the Cardinals would be making a massive mistake trading for

Tyler Anderson

If you look solely at the surface-level numbers, well, mostly just at his ERA, Tyler Anderson would look like a major upgrade for the Cardinals' rotation. I'm here to tell you that not only would he be a minor upgrade at best, but he'd also really hurt the club's ability to upgrade next season as well.

While Anderson's 2.97 ERA and All-Star nod this year seem encouraging, everything about his output so far screams that he's due for hard regression. Anderson ranks in the 40th percentile or lower in the following categories this year: xERA, xBA, fastball velocity, K%, BB%, GB%, and extension. Basically, Anderson's fastball averages under 90 MPH, he is one of the worst pitchers in baseball in striking hitters out while walking more batters than 70% of the league, and he does this while getting barreled up more than most starters and is one of the worst in baseball at inducing groundballs.

Looking at all of that, it is amazing to think he's even been able to maintain that 2.97 ERA thus far. For the year, Anderson has a 4.42 xERA, 4.60 FIP, and 5.02 xFIP as a fastball/change-up dominant pitcher. The only thing in his profile that is even all that encouraging is that he has induced a lot of weak contact this year, but that doesn't seem all that sustainable when he cannot keep the ball on the ground, get hitters to swing and miss, or even avoid walks.

One of the selling points about Anderson that you'll actually see from MLB Insiders is that he has another year remaining on his contract at $11 million. While that's not a crazy number to pay any starter who hits free agency, I have no idea why Cardinal fans would be interested in adding that number to their 2026 payroll. They already have Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz under contract for next year with super team-friendly club options on Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, there really in no reason to add Anderson to that mix.

While the Angels do have some interesting pieces on the trade block, the Cardinals should not touch Anderson with a ten-foot pole.