Bryan Anderson (baseball)

Bryan Douglas Anderson (born December 16, 1986) is an American professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and Oakland Athletics, and in international competition for the United States national baseball team.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Anderson was born in Thousand Oaks, California, on December 16, 1986. He attended Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California. The Cardinals selected him in the fourth round (140th overall) of the June 2005 First-Year Player Draft.

Following the draft, Anderson was assigned to the Johnson City Cardinals, the Cardinals's rookie league team in the Appalachian League. He played 51 games in 2005 for Johnson City and hit .331. In 2006, he began with the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits in the Midwest League. He played the full year and batted .302. In 2007, he was advanced to the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A affiliate in Missouri of the Texas League. He did well and hit .298. He began 2008 in Springfield, hitting .388 with two homers and 14 RBIs in April. He was then promoted to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of Pacific Coast League (PCL). He spent 2009 in Memphis as well.

In 2010, Anderson was a non-roster invitee to Cardinals spring training. On March 15, which was relatively early in camp, he was optioned to Memphis.

In April 2010, Anderson was recalled from Memphis when back up catcher Jason LaRue was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He made his Major League debut on April 15, 2010. He saw limited action, appearing in 4 games, and was reassigned to Memphis on April 27 when LaRue was reactivated.

Anderson battled Tony Cruz during spring training for the backup catcher for the Major League Cardinals. He ended up starting the season at Triple-A Memphis, but was eventually called up to the big club during the summer. Anderson went 3-for-12 in limited at-bats for St. Louis, while batting .225 in one hundred plate appearances for Memphis. In November, 2012 St. Louis cleared space on the 40-man off season roster by outrighting Anderson and two others back to Memphis. He subsequently elected to become a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

On November 21, 2012, Anderson signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. On September 1, 2013, he was called up due to the expanded September rosters and served as the team's third catcher. He was outrighted off the roster on October 4, 2013.

Cincinnati Reds

Anderson signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds in January 2014.

Oakland Athletics

The Reds traded Anderson to the Oakland Athletics on August 24, 2014. He played the majority of the 2015 season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, but was called up to Oakland in September. He was outrighted back to Nashville after the season, and later elected free agency. He signed another minor league contract with the A's for 2016.