Braves option Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder to Triple-A - MLB

NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Atlanta Braves optioned Ian Anderson to their Triple-A affiliate, the latest setback for a right-hander whose promising start included pitching five hitless innings in Game 3 of the 2021 World Series.

The Braves announced they had optioned both Anderson and right-hander Bryce Elder to Triple-A Gwinnett. Both players had been competing for the fifth spot in the Braves’ starting rotation.

Anderson, 24, went 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and followed that up by going 9-5 with a 3.58 ERA while making 24 starts in 2021. He had a 4-0 record with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts from 2020-21.

He was the winning pitcher in the Braves’ 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the 2021 World Series and had a no-hitter going when he was removed after five innings.

But, he hasn’t been the same since.

Anderson went 10-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 22 starts last season and was sent to the minors in early August. He has gone 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in three preseason appearances this spring.

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on opening day.

Clemens made four appearances on last year’s KayRod Cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez. He will be stepping in on March 30 for David Cone, who will be doing the New York Yankees opener against the San Francisco Giants on YES Network.

“Roger has been sort of a friend of ours for the last year, so to speak, he’s in. He’s been engaged, knowledgeable and really present,” said ESPN Vice President of Production Phil Orlins. “You know, whatever past may be, he’s still tremendously engaged and he really brought that every time he was with us.”

Clemens was a seven-time Cy Young winner but his career after baseball has been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He is a Houston native and pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

Orlins said that with the rules changes and pitch clock, it is important to have a pitcher in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez.

“We don’t feel like we have to have the dynamic of Eduardo with a pitcher, but we certainly think that works. Throw in the added factor of rule changes and it is better to have a batter-pitcher perspective,” Orlins said.

Orlins did not say if this would open the door for future opportunities for Clemens as an ESPN analyst.