Dodgers immediately scoop up former Braves reliever in least-surprising transaction

The Kansas City Royals made an aggressive trade weeks before the trade deadline, acquiring Hunter Harvey to bolster their bullpen. They gave up a lot to get him, but that deal did make some sense from their perspective considering their dire need for bullpen help. The corresponding move to add Harvey to their active roster was a rather surprising one, as the Royals DFA'd Nick Anderson.

Kansas City had signed Anderson to a one-year deal this past offseason. No, he wasn't close to as dominant as he was for the Tampa Bay Rays and wasn't even as good as he was last season with the Atlanta Braves, but he appeared in 37 games and pitched wasn't awful.

Several teams could've used the 34-year-old, but once he cleared waivers, it felt obvious where he was going to sign. As Joel Sherman of the NY Post reported, Anderson agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dodgers bolster bullpen by signing former Braves reliever

It's a minor-league deal for Anderson according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, which adds some much-needed bullpen depth for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers bullpen has been good, ranking fourth in the majors in ERA, but adding any sort of pitching depth is valuable for this team considering the injuries that they've dealt with. Not only do they have an absurd amount of starters sidelined, but Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol, and Michael Grove are all out.

Graterol has missed the entire season, and Brasier has been limited to 12 appearances. Michael Grove wasn't supposed to be an important piece, but he has appeared in 28 games this season with 26 of them coming in relief.

The Dodgers are currently running with guys like Yohan Ramirez, and Brent Honeywell who they acquired in a minor trade and via waivers respectively. They've pitched pretty well for the Dodgers, but Anderson is more proven.

Anderson had a 4.04 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched for the Royals this season. His 5.06 xERA and 5.07 FIP suggest he might've gotten a bit lucky, but just last season we saw Anderson post a 3.06 ERA with the Braves. It wouldn't be shocking at all to see this right-hander suddenly turn things around once Mark Prior gets to work with him. In fact, it'd be surprising if Anderson didn't suddenly perform better in Dodger Blue. That seems to always happen.

He'll start in the minors, but there's a very good chance that Anderson will not only be up fairly soon, but that he'll be a contributor out of the bullpen down the stretch, at the very least until the Dodgers are healthier. There's obviously no risk that comes with a minor league deal, and since Anderson signed with the Dodgers, there's a good chance that many teams will regret not signing him first.