Nick Anderson (baseball)


Nick Paul Anderson is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the Miami Marlins.

Career

Amateur career

Anderson attended Brainerd High School in Brainerd, Minnesota. He played college baseball at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota for three years. He transferred to NAIA Mayville State University in Mayville, North Dakota for his senior season of 2012. In 12 games his senior year, he went 5-2 with a 1.95 ERA.

Independent Leagues

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Anderson in the 32nd round of the 2012 MLB draft. He did not sign with the Brewers and played in the independent baseball Frontier League for three seasons. He played for the Rockford RiverHawks/Aviators in 2013 and 2014, and for the Frontier Greys in 2015.

Minnesota Twins

Anderson's contract was purchased by the Minnesota Twins in August 2015. He played in 9 games for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2015, recording a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings. He split the 2016 season between Cedar Rapids and the Fort Myers Miracle, accumulating a 4–3 record with a 2.65 ERA in 57.2 innings. In 2017, he played for Fort Myers and the Chattanooga Lookouts, accumulating a 4–1 record with a 1.00 ERA in 53.1 innings. He spent the 2018 season with the Rochester Red Wings, going 8–2 with a 3.30 ERA in 60 innings.

Miami Marlins

On November 20, 2018 the Twins traded him to the Miami Marlins for Brian Schales, and the Marlins added him to their 40-man roster.
Anderson made the Marlins' 2019 Opening Day roster. On March 28, 2019, he made his major league debut against the Colorado Rockies. Anderson retired Ryan McMahon, the only batter he faced.
Anderson collected his first major league win on May 21st in a 5-4 11-inning game against the Detroit Tigers. Anderson pitched the final two innings allowing no runs while striking out a career-high five batters. Before July 31, 2019, Anderson had appeared in 45 games with 69 strikeouts in innings.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 31, 2019, Anderson was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Jesús Sánchez and Ryne Stanek. Anderson continued his dominance after the trade, registering an ERA of 2.11 in innings with 41 strikeouts.

Personal life

In 2010, while at St. Cloud State University, Anderson received a drunken driving charge and in 2011, spent eight days in jail on an assault charge that involved a baseball bat and alcohol. He received probation and underwent mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous and anger management classes.