With Opening Day on the horizon, the Atlanta Braves are putting the finishing touches on their roster for the 2025 campaign. On Sunday, the team signed veteran reliever Jesse Chavez to a minor league deal to see if he’ll crack the Opening Day roster.
After signing Chavez, the Braves parted ways with a starting pitcher, who was once viewed as a prominent piece of their starting rotation.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Atlanta traded Ian Anderson to the Los Angeles Angels for Jose Suarez. Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds Suarez is going to be on Atlanta’s Opening Day roster.
Angels acquire Ian Anderson from Braves for Jose Suarez
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 23, 2025
Jose Suarez is going to be on the Braves' Opening Day roster.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) March 23, 2025
The move to trade Anderson before the season wasn’t surprising, given his command issues in Spring Training. Before his Spring Training outing on Sunday, the 26-year-old had a 2-2 record and 2.65 ERA in five appearances (four starts).
However, Anderson allowed an eye-opening 18 walks, six hits, and five earned runs, but striking out eight batters across 17 innings pitched. In his last appearance with the Braves on Sunday, he gave up two hits, two walks, no runs, and added two strikeouts in three innings.
Even though it did not work out for Anderson over the last few seasons due to injury in 2022 and other struggles, Braves fans will always fondly remember his postseason performance in 2021.
The right-handed pitcher was electrifying in Atlanta’s run to the World Series during that season. Anderson had a 2-0 record and a pristine 1.59 ERA in four starts. He allowed nine hits, seven walks, and three earned runs (one home run) while striking out 16 batters in 17 innings pitched.
Anderson’s postseason performance in 2021 was eerily reminiscent of what he did in Atlanta’s 2020 playoff run. The right-handed starter had a 2-0 record and 0.96 ERA in four starts. He also allowed 11 hits, 10 walks, and two earned runs, while racking up 24 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work.
Based on those postseason runs and what he did in the regular season, Anderson appeared to be on the cusp of cementing himself as one of the building blocks in the starting rotation. Now, the veteran will head to Anaheim, where he looks to get back on track and limit the walks.