Nick Paul Anderson (born July 5, 1990) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Career

Amateur career

Anderson attended Brainerd High School in

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

for three years (2009–2011). He transferred to NAIA

Mayville State University Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a public university in Mayville, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. History Founded as a normal school by provision of the North Dakota Constitution in 1889, Mayville Stat ...

Mayville, North Dakota Mayville is a city in Traill County, North Dakota, Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. which makes Mayville the largest community in Traill County. Mayville was founde ...

, for his senior season in 2012. In 12 games (11 starts) his senior year, he went 5–2 with a 1.95 ERA.

Independent Leagues

The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

selected Anderson in the 32nd round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. He did not sign with the Brewers and played in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

for three seasons. He played for the Rockford RiverHawks/Aviators in 2012 and 2013, and for the

Frontier Greys The Frontier Greys were a professional baseball team in the United States. The Greys were a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league, from 2013 through 2015. The Greys were a traveling team that did n ...

in 2015.

Minnesota Twins

Anderson's contract was purchased by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in August 2015. He played in 9 games for the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

in 2015, recording a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings. He split the 2016 season between Cedar Rapids and the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

, 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 The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

, accumulating a 4–1 record with a 1.00 ERA in 53.1 innings. He spent the 2018 season with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, going 8–2 with a 3.30 ERA in 60 innings.

Miami Marlins

On November 20, 2018, the Twins traded Anderson to the

for Brian Schales, and the Marlins added him to their 40-man roster. Anderson made the Marlins' 2019

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster. On March 28, 2019, he made his major league debut against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. Anderson retired Ryan McMahon, the only batter he faced. Anderson collected his first major league win on May 21 in a 5-4 11-inning game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He 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

(along with Trevor Richards) in exchange for Jesús Sánchez and

Ryne Stanek Ryne Thomas Stanek (born July 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of Arkansas, where he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team. He was ...

. He continued his dominance after the trade, registering an ERA of 2.11 in innings with 41 strikeouts. In 2020, he went 2–1 with six saves and an 0.55 ERA in 16.1 innings over 19 games. In the 2020 postseason, as the Rays made their second

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

appearance in franchise history, Anderson went 7 consecutive postseason appearances while allowing a run, breaking an MLB record. On March 25, 2021, it was announced that Anderson had suffered a partial tear of his elbow ligament and would miss time until at least the All-Star break. On March 26, Anderson was placed on the 60-day injured list. Anderson was activated from the injured list on September 12 to make his season debut. Anderson was able to work to a 4.50 ERA in 6 appearances for the Rays in 2021. On October 27, 2021, Anderson underwent right elbow surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament with an internal brace procedure. The surgery was an alternative to

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, but Anderson was projected to remain out through the 2022 All-Star break. On March 22, 2022, Anderson signed a $845,000 contract with the Rays, avoiding salary arbitration. On November 9, 2022, Anderson was placed on outright waivers.

Atlanta Braves

On November 11, 2022, Anderson signed a one-year, non-guaranteed split contract with the

Personal life

In 2010, while at St. Cloud State University, Anderson received a drunken driving charge and in 2011 he 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.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Nick 1990 births Living people People from Crosby, Minnesota Baseball players from Minnesota Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Tampa Bay Rays players St. Cloud State Huskies baseball players Mayville State Comets baseball players Rockford RiverHawks players Rockford Aviators players Frontier Greys players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Chattanooga Lookouts players Rochester Red Wings players