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The White Sox just had one of the crummiest seasons you'll ever see. Given the results and future outlook, they may have still had a better year than the Angels, but we’re splitting hairs in that case. The Sox thought themselves contenders, and signed Mike Clevinger and Andrew Benintendi to decent-sized contracts. In fact, Benintendi’s was the largest free agent contract given out by the franchise in its history.
Like the Twins going into 2023, the Sox figured that poor injury luck and underperforming their talent level in 2022 would course-correct into a contending season. Despite being less injured than the prior year, nothing went right from a performance, cohesion and soft skills standpoint. They lost 101 games, their PBO, GM and allegedly the entire clubhouse.
They also lost Tim Anderson in more ways than one. He was their All-Star shortstop who up until this year played a decent shortstop while hitting .300 in his sleep. But in trying to play through an injury, his defense slipped and his hitting cratered, with only a single home run hit. He did manage to post 523 plate appearances. Speaking to MLB.com reporter Scott Merkin, Anderson offered the following assessment of 2023:
Quote“Obviously, injuries. I had an MCL injury,” Anderson said of a left knee sprain sustained during a defensive rundown in a game at Target Field on April 10. “My front leg, so that kind of messed with me hitting. I kind of was not really hitting up against anything on the front side.
“I’m really not trying to make that excuse. This year has been a lot of searching. The body is working a lot differently, especially coming off injury. I just could never grab hold to what I was searching for.
“Some days, I feel good. I’d have a good series. It kind of really was all over the place with trying to grab that consistency and that feel. The body felt different every day.”
A hitter's front leg is crucial to generating any sort of power. It's the same idea for golfers: the front leg acts as a brace so that the player can deliver the most force at the fullest extension without losing balance.
So with an unstable lead leg, Anderson’s power dried up. His career average is 18 home runs per 162 games. We all know what happens to hitters that pitchers know can’t drive the ball. They bust them inside until they make a pitcher pay, which Anderson never really did. That is the easiest explanation as to Anderson’s fall off.
The White Sox cut him a few weeks ago, declining a 14M option on his contract for 2024.
I don’t know about you, but when I see the White Sox make a decision on something borderline, I make the assumption that they’re wrong. Anderson is a proud player, and Chicago is so dysfunctional that they turned that into a weakness. He played through an injury that everyone could tell was limiting him, and yet when the team was asked who their leaders were, all prominent players lowered their heads and pleaded the fifth.
He got slapped by Yasmani Grandal when he criticized the catcher for skipping meetings.
He then got punched out in front of the whole world by Jose Ramirez for daring to pull a Kent Hrbek on a young Guardians player the night before. He took the shot like a champ, and yet, the whole world renewed its adoration for Ramirez afterwards.
Which struck me as weird, because Ramirez was the hostile actor in this case. He (or perhaps the entire Guardians clubhouse) is the one who took exception to the play the night before. He is the one who started jawing after a light tag on the butt from Anderson as he slid into second base. He was looking for some action, and although unbridled macho-ism is on the decline in baseball, it certainly reared its ugly head here. There was a thousand times more breathless coverage of Tom Hamilton’s radio call of the incident, than the fact that the face of the White Sox had been assaulted for the crime of trying to make some plays for a talented team that needed a big-time spark or seven. Anderson even got a longer suspension than Ramirez!
(Also why are we in love with Ramirez when he's a hot head, chews tobacco, and left about 100M on the table to sign an extension with Cleveland. The MLBPA should hate this guy!)
So let’s review:
- Anderson got hurt, and played through the injury. When that goes well, we call those players ‘warriors.”
- The clubhouse culture was clearly a problem. Anderson called out one of the worst perpetrators and got slapped. Rather than be lionized for his attempts to restore some order in Chicagoland, everyone just shrugged.
- He got punched and everyone took Jose Ramirez’s side. Anderson gave the White Sox 123 games despite being hurt, playing for a sorry team, and getting no support from seemingly anyone in the game.
- He could have lashed out. At the media, at the White Sox, at Ramirez. But he mostly stayed silent. Anderson has always been a head-down, focused and passionate player. If anyone stands a higher percent chance to rebound from the conditions they played in in 2023, it's Anderson (provided his knee is healthy next year).
It would seem likely that Anderson will sign for a one year, 10M deal, or something similar. Perhaps he might want to join a division favorite with a shortstop used to being maligned by Twitter while he plays through an injury for almost an entire year. Maybe he might want to join a hard working clubhouse that would actually listen when he had something to say.
The fit is not obvious in Minnesota. It would require the Twins to trade from their infield depth, although that is something they have indicated they will do. But beyond fit, it would seem to me that Anderson stands an excellent chance of getting to qualifying offer territory next year if he joins a team with a good, or at least a neutral, culture.
He’s also right-handed with a palatable strikeout rate, and has offered to convert to second base. Any late inning heroics from him at Progressive Field will hit like a playoff win. What do you think? Should the Twins take a flier on their old rival? Sound off in the comments.
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