The Tigers have agreed to release right-hander Drew Anderson to sign with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Landers send cash to the Tigers in return. According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (X link), Anderson will make a $570K salary.
Anderson, 30, was in the Detroit organization after signing an offseason minor league deal. He’d been pitching in long relief at Triple-A Toledo, tossing 14 innings across nine appearances. Anderson punched out 16 hitters with a 3.86 ERA in a solid stint that caught the attention of the Landers. He would have had a tough time securing a spot in a Detroit bullpen that has been one of the game’s best, so the Tigers were content to let him pursue the KBO job.
This will be Anderson’s first stint in Korea. He pitched in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp between 2022-23, working to a cumulative 3.05 ERA over 115 innings. Anderson last appeared in the big leagues in 2021, throwing a career-high 22 innings with a 3.27 ERA for the Rangers. The former third-round draftee has also had brief stints with the Phillies and White Sox and played in parts of five MLB campaigns overall.
In a corresponding move, the Landers released right-hander Robert Dugger. KBO teams are only allowed to carry two foreign-born pitchers on their roster. Signing Anderson meant they had to move on from either Roenis Elías or Dugger. While Elías has a pedestrian 4.63 ERA over four starts, Dugger had a very rough showing. The right-hander was rocked for a 12.71 ERA in his six KBO appearances.
A former 18th-round pick of the Mariners, Dugger pitched to a 7.17 ERA with four MLB teams between 2019-22. He spent all of last season in Triple-A with the Rangers, where he posted a 4.31 ERA over 29 starts in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting.