4 former Dodgers who painfully enter 2023 on fire after impressive springs

3. Tyler Anderson

Every year there seems to be a breakout pitcher at the back end of the Dodgers' rotation that turns into an All-Star. The likes of Alex Wood and Ross Stripling pioneered that breakout and Tyler Anderson may have perfected it in 2022.

Anderson was someone who could only land a one-year deal with the Dodgers and wasn't even signed to pitch out of the rotation to start the year. Injuries opened the door for the southpaw to be a consistent starter and he turned that into a career year and All-Star nod of his own.

That earned him a payday from the Los Angeles Angels by way of a three-year, $39 million contract. Meanwhile, the Dodgers signed former Angel Noah Syndergaard to fill Anderson's place in the back end of the rotation with the hope that he too could break out in LA.

Typically this works out great. The Dodgers are better are maximizing pitchers than the Angels and, knowing that history, fans weren't wrong to think that Syndergaard would be better than Anderson. Unfortunately, that's been far from the case thus far.

Anderson finished his 2023 spring with a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings, allowing his first run in his Monday start against the Dodgers at Angel Stadium. He threw 5.1 innings and allowed two runs against his former team. Syndergaard also started that game and did not fare as well, allowing five runs on nine hits in five innings. He finished spring with a 5.79 ERA.