He Gone

Yesterday, the White Sox declined their $14 million team option on Tim Anderson, thus making him a free agent and paving the way for top organization prospect Colson Montgomery to take over at shortstop some point next season. All teams have traditional weak and strong positions. The Sox have excelled at starting pitching; shortstop; and centerfield; third base and catcher, not so much. Anderson was nowhere near as talented as HOFers Luke Appling or Luis Aparicio. He fits into another category, good/very good. According to baseball-reference.com, Ozzie Guillen amassed a 21.0 WAR over the course of his career; Bucky Dent, 17.5; and Ron Hansen, 24.1. Anderson comes in at 16.2. He hit over .300 from 2019-2022. But last year was a disaster to the point of casting considerable doubt on the chances of Anderson bouncing back at age thirty. Part of that doubt concerns his lack of walks and propensity to strike out, neither of which is a good thing in a leadoff hitter. And Anderson’s game is all about offense, as evidenced by his .962 career fielding average. Basically, you wanted to see Anderson with a bat, not a glove. I can’t help but feel part of the problem was coaching. Rick Renteria ran a tight ship, Tony La Russan and Mickey Mouse did not. Would Renteria have kept Anderson from developing too big a chip on his shoulder? Unfortunately, we’ll never know. Two silver linings for anyone interested—someone will take a chance on Anderson, and how unlike the Sox not to wait to cut their losses, though they could have and should have moved Anderson at the July trade deadline. But kind of early beats way too late.