It’s been a rough year for Tim Anderson. After back-to-back All-Star campaigns in 2021 and ’22, the shortstop has floundered at the plate in 2023, slashing a meager .248/.290/.300 with just a single home run. By wRC+, he has been the second-worst qualified hitter in baseball, trailing only Javier Báez. Moreover, unlike Báez, Anderson is hardly an elite defensive shortstop. He has made 14 errors this year, accumulating -4 Outs Above Average and -16 Defensive Runs Saved.
The 30-year-old has a $14MM team option on his contract for 2024, and prior to this season, it seemed like a no-brainer the White Sox would exercise the option. Now, however, new general manager Chris Getz has a big decision ahead of him.
According to Getz, Anderson’s option “deserves an exhaustive discussion because of what he has meant to this organization,” reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Indeed, the shortstop has done tremendous work for Chicago since his debut in 2016. Selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2013 draft, he has played nearly 900 games for the big league club across eight seasons in the majors. He led the Sox to a Wild Card berth in 2020 and a division title in 2021.
Furthermore, this decision isn’t just difficult because of what Anderson has done in the past but because of what he can do in the future. A $14MM price tag is a lot to pay for one of the worst hitters in baseball, but if Anderson can return to anything resembling his All-Star form, that same salary will be a steal. If the White Sox choose to exercise the option, the worst that can happen is they end up eating a few million dollars. In the best-case scenario, however, they could have a star shortstop for a fraction of what he’d cost on the open market.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise the White Sox are considering numerous possibilities to keep Anderson on the roster next season. Getz mentioned that the 2019 AL batting champion has the skills to play “a lot of different positions,” although he stopped short of saying the team would ask the shortstop to move off of his long-time position. Instead, the executive re-emphasized that he and other members of the organization would be meeting with Anderson to discuss his future. Presumably, that will include a conversation about where he’ll play on the diamond.
In other White Sox news, new assistant GM Josh Barfield addressed members of the media on Wednesday (including Vinnie Duber of CHGO Sports). Barfield will have various duties in his new role, including involvement with roster construction and player acquisition, so it stands to reason he’ll also be involved in conversations about Anderson’s future.