Chase Anderson Opts Out of Contract with Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are known to bring in undervalued arms to see if they can find a diamond in the rough. A month ago, Chase Anderson was signed to a minor league deal to be their next project. Now, Anderson has opted out of his contract with the club.

Reported early Thursday morning by FanSided's own Robert Murray, Anderson opted out of his second minor league deal of the season, following a stint with the Tigers earlier in the year.

Anderson made his MLB debut back in 2014 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and was a back of the rotation for most of his 8 major league seasons. In 2017, Anderson went 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers, and since then has struggled to be a productive starter. His last big league stint was in 2021, where he posted a 6.75 ERA across 48 innings of work for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The right-hander showed signs of life in limited work for the Rays AAA Durham affiliate, with a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings of work. Anderson must have thought he would see a bigger opportunity somewhere else, as opting out of his deal now would seem odd otherwise.

The Rays would have loved to have kept Anderson as a depth arm for their roster, but clearly did not value him enough to create a major league roster spot for the 34-year-old. It remains to be seen if Anderson can carve out a role on a big league club once again, or if this is the end of his professional journey.