Atlanta Braves 3B: Top 10 Trade Targets to Track in 2020
By Seth Carter
3. Brian Anderson
Brian Anderson just completed his second complete season with the Marlins and things are looking up. We saw his power potential come to fruition in 2019 as he brought his slugging percentage up from .400 in ’18 to .468 in 2019.
Anderson only hit 11 homers in 156 games in 2018, but he did walk 62 times slashing .273/.357/.400. In his age-26 season last year, Anderson blasted 33 doubles and 20 homers in just 126 games with 459 at-bats. He increased his OPS from .757 in ’18 to .811 in ’19.
Anderson posted a 3.8 rWAR in 2019 and posted three defensive runs saved, so he’s not hurting anybody on defense.
According to Statcast, Anderson ranked in the 86th percentile in hard-hit percentage in 2019. He is one season from arbitration and under team control for four more seasons.
Miami is in the midst of a rebuild. Although Anderson is still young with plenty of team control, the Marlins do not have any untouchables.
They are attempting to stock up and Anderson is a great fit for any contender in need of major league ready services. If the Marlins believe they can turn Anderson into a few prospects, they might go for it.
As a bonus, Anderson is a completely capable third sacker and right fielder.
Anderson is a very good (and getting better) 27-year-old major league talent. He’ll cost more in prospects but the tradeoff is four years of team control.
MLBTraderumors.com pointed out that Anderson is the best all-around player on the club and the asking price should be high since he could still be viewed as a building block for the Marlins, rather than a trade piece.