White Sox decline Tim Anderson’s option due to Tim Anderson’s decline

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson
(Photo by Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)

The White Sox didn’t announce Tim Anderson’s status with other roster moves on Friday, but delaying their decision to decline his $14 million option didn’t dull the effect.

Anderson is no longer a member of the White Sox, with the team sending out a farewell message and a thanks-for-the-memories montage:

It’s a stunning development when you consider everything Anderson represented, but it’s less stunning if you feel confident using the past tense, or no longer like the aspects of the White Sox that Anderson represents.

Looking at it another way, it’s a testament to Anderson’s previous excellence that it dumbfounds at all, because it’s quite a different conversation if you disregard the name while considering the following exercise:

Would you rather pay $14 million to somebody who:

  • Hit .245/.286/.296 in 2023 (and .246/.286/.295 going back to June 2022)?
  • Was the least productive qualified hitter in baseball in 2023?
  • Only hit one homer in 524 plate appearances in 2023?
  • Was the least valuable regular according to bWAR?
  • Hadn’t played more than 123 games in any of the last five seasons due to an assortment of injuries, most of them lower-body?
  • Is now in his 30s?
  • Might not be a shortstop anymore?

Or would you rather buy him out for $1 million and see if you can do any better with the savings? When you approach it that way, the answer’s obvious.

You shouldn’t only approach it that way, because more of Anderson’s track record merits consideration. It’s weird that his production collapsed like it has, and a lot of teams could be interested in Anderson at a lower price or different position because he’d been so much better not all that long ago.

Hell, one of those teams could be the White Sox. There’s a chance that Anderson’s time on the South Side isn’t over, because the White Sox don’t have immediate heirs apparent at either middle-infield position. It wouldn’t shock if Anderson returned on a one-year, $5 million deal to play second base. They’d certainly have all the playing time for him to use both sides of a pillow contract.

Whether Tim Anderson’s White Sox career continues after a brief interruption, though, this decision marks the end of the Tim Anderson Era, and it’s probably the more responsible path forward.

Under Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams, the White Sox got too attached to players who just weren’t able to meet expectations. They justified staying the course by blaming injuries and pointing to the back of the baseball card (but only the good parts). What did they have to show for it? A 101-loss team at what was projected to be the peak of the contention arc.

It’d be weird to fire Hahn and Williams, then ask Chris Getz to follow the same path that buried them. Behavioral scientists would have a field day with the Sox if they exercised Anderson’s option because it would invoke so many cognitive biases. Off the top of my head:

  • Optimism bias: This time it’ll work out!
  • Effort justification: He’s the one position player the White Sox actually developed!
  • Sunk-cost fallacy: After all the time and money, they may as well see it all the way through!
  • Endowment effect: He’s worth more to the White Sox because he’s on the White Sox.
  • Anchoring bias: He’s worth $14 million because that’s what was once fair value.

Only a couple of these were present when the Sox exercised Craig Kimbrel’s option with the intent to trade him, and they ended up getting stuck with him for the entire 2021-22 offseason.

I can envision the range of possible outcomes for Anderson’s 2024 season effectively enough, and if I try to pretend I’m in next October assessing each kind of performance, I suppose I’d be least surprised if he continued to be injured and ineffective. And while that might not cost the White Sox anything in terms of their postseason hopes, there is an opportunity cost by devoting the resources to a player everybody knows the Sox don’t intend to keep, but might find themselves stuck with.

It doesn’t look like any sort of toll when the incumbent middle infield is now Lenyn Sosa and Zach Remillard, but you have to leave some room for the unknowns. If the White Sox are going to turn this around, then they have to spin their biggest problem (lack of solutions) into a potential benefit (generous audition opportunities). It’s easy to imagine what we’ve already seen, which is a lot of Sosa looking like a AAAA infielder. It’s harder to imagine Getz acquiring somebody else’s blocked/stalled prospect and getting a decent contribution from him, but that’s now a more possible outcome than it was before.

That just requires Getz to do the work, and that’s why I say the White Sox probably chose responsibly.

Why the lingering doubt? Getz doesn’t have a track record as GM, and he was part of the problem as director of player development. The White Sox have been terrible at keeping players healthy, and Pedro Grifol bypassed every opportunity to mitigate the damage of Anderson’s underperformance because he was scared to impose consequences upon players with guaranteed contracts. Two things can be true: Anderson was terrible, and the White Sox provided the worst possible environment for him. The possibility of a change-of-scenery boost is real, especially if there are fewer off-the-field complications.

We’ll have to wait for more information to roll in over the course of the offseason to dial in a more confident response. Whatever contract Anderson receives will help better determine what his trade value might’ve been, and in the meantime, let’s see if Getz is any more proactive than Hahn in landing potential outside solutions. The good news is that this isn’t a zero-sum event. Maybe Anderson rebounds elsewhere and the White Sox use the deck-clearing to their advantage, whether it’s by freeing up some payroll, opening the playing time and/or shaking up the hierarchy.

I certainly wish Anderson well, whether in Chicago or elsewhere, because this isn’t the ending his White Sox career deserved. In a more ideal order of operations, Anderson would have one guaranteed year to turn it around while Yoรกn Moncada’s option year arrived because Anderson still has some goodwill remaining. Alas, Getz is tasked with reducing the number of players who are too often injured and unable to answer the question, “What is it you do well?” Anderson’s number was called, and now his time is up.

Author

  • Jim Margalus

    Writing about the White Sox for a 16th season, first here, then at South Side Sox, and now here again. Letโ€™s talk curling.

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Weino17

Good. I used to really tike Tim. Now I say donโ€™t run hard to 1st for someone else.

FishSox

“…the White Sox use the deck-clearing to their advantage…”

Chris Getz announced today that after meetings with Jerry Reinsdorf, The White Sox will be consolidating payroll so that in future years more money will be available for the top tier free agents needed to build the winning culture on the South Side.

Reached for comment, Pedro Grifol said, “I think Chris and Jerry are underappreciated baseball geniuses. Chris is a really snappy dresser with a great hairstyle also.”

StockroomSnail

“To make our contracts look bigger, we’re paying in Canadian dollars. “

As Cirensica

Hey….I take offense.๐Ÿคฃ

LamarHoyt_oncrack

Wow, some surprising sensibility finally. No Tim or Clevinger. Now we can put to rest any nonsense about the Sox trading Tim for prospects worth his salary.

I’m sure someone will take him and he’ll do better than he would have being miserable here. His best 2-3 weeks last season were right before the deadline, undoubtedly b/c he wanted to get the bleep out of here. He lost me with his complaining last winter about lack of fan support. Good luck, and good riddance.

You have many times stated your belief that TA played well before the deadline because he flipped the switch hoping to be traded and then he flipped the switch off again after the deadline. I think TA like all other mlb players would not intentionally become the worst position player in baseball out of spite. I am not saying this because he is too virtuous to do it but because all pro athletes have sizeable egos; it cost him millions of dollars; and I’m very skeptical about this magical ability to be great anytime that you attribute to him.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

I listened to people on sports radio last summer talk about how obvious it was that Tim was unhappy playing here. It was visible. I was hardly alone in that opinion. That doesn’t suggest that he played poorly “out of spite”, or on purpose. It suggests that he was motivated/tried harder with the possibility of getting traded in front of him near the deadline than he did at any other time during the season. That’s what it sure looked like, to me. That was clearly his best stretch of the season. Guys do better when they have something to play for. Disagree if you like.

That is not a character attack on him. The whole team played like it didn’t have a pulse for most of the past 2 seasons b/c this team is run by complete morons, with the worst team vibe I’ve ever seen. I don’t blame Tim or anybody for lackluster play during a 100 loss season with another halfwit manager, following 2 years of bleeping La Russa, and an ownership that ran a good team into the ground, defrauding fans and players alike. I’m sure the Sox are at the top of the list of teams many players would least want to play for, especially those who have had the experience. This is a depressing and joyless team to root, or play for.

At any rate Tim is gone, and surely it will be to his benefit. It won’t be a surprise if he does much better and plays with a lot more energy elsewhere. This team brings out the worst in everyone.

ChiSportsDrummerMJ

Farewell TA, appreciate the good times on the southside. Not sure where the Sox go from here but I really hope its not Colson before he is ready. It looks like the D Backs are fine with pushing players and letting them learn but I’m not sure this White Sox team is developed like that currently. Time will tell, but at very least Getz is doing the cost cutting things that can either: Add more salary to budget for offseason or be cost cutting measures to placate the owner/managers desire to field a team of nothing but system guys IE: David Eckstein/Chris Getz types.

upnorthsox

Oh come on, he’s got a whole 131 ABs above A ball. He’s more than ready, he’s White Sox ready!

SaintCharlie5

Well thats one less headache for Salvy should the inevitable occur

StockroomSnail

Deal precursor for sure.

MattyV415

The only positive I see here is being able to tell the โ€œgood riddanceโ€ crowd to eat their words when weโ€™re subjected to some vile combination of Sosa, Rodriguez, and Andrus playing shortstop for the Sox in 2024.

Last edited 1 year ago by MattyV415
LamarHoyt_oncrack

I’d prefer to see any of them playing SS than an unhappy and atrociously bad Tim Anderson moping around for 14M like we saw last year.

I’ll bet this is the happiest day Tim has had in a very long time. On that level I’m happy for the guy, he needs a fresh start badly and will get one soon. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

MattyV415

Thatโ€™s all operating under the assumption that TA will be the same player in 2024 that he was in 2023. Sosa probably isnโ€™t a major leaguer, Rodriguez isnโ€™t ready, and Andrus looked washed for most of the season. Even if itโ€™s a low bar, Iโ€™d put money on TA being the better option over that atrocious combo.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

Tim did not want to play here. That could not have been more obvious. The Sox were not going to get a good season from a guy with a host of personal and emotional problems who badly did not want to be here.

I’m sure he will do much better than last year for somebody else. That doesn’t mean that is what he would have done had he stayed. He wasn’t worth 14M coming off a -2 WAR year heading into a throw away season. This is a win-win for all, esp Tim.

MattyV415

You must have a personal relationship with Tim Anderson? Otherwise youโ€™re just stating opinions about his emotional state and feelings about playing with the Sox as facts when theyโ€™re anything but.

Last edited 1 year ago by MattyV415
HallofFrank

Well, when Sosa and Andrus combine for -1 WAR, weโ€™ll be happy to say, โ€œthatโ€™s 1 WAR better than our SS last year!โ€

I donโ€™t think many are saying โ€œgood riddance.โ€ Iโ€™m not. TA was one of my favorite Sox of all-time. But Iโ€™m a Sox fan first, and this was pretty clearly the right call.

MattyV415

It was not โ€œpretty clearly the right call.โ€ We donโ€™t know what kind of call it is until we see how things play out. Like Iโ€™ve said elsewhere, I find it much more likely that TA rebounds than that the Sox actually find a good solution to fill their newest chasm to go along with 2B and RF.

HallofFrank

Sure we do. Things can be the right callโ€”or good decisionsโ€”even if they donโ€™t turn out. For example, it was the right call to extend TA when they did even if it didnโ€™t work out. Now, declining the option was the right call.

I donโ€™t know how many different ways to say SS was already a chasm.

burning-phoneix

I mean we already saw that in 2023 tbh.

Yolmer

Do the tribute tweets and videos mean the player is definitely not coming back? That is how I am interpreting it. Anyway, lot’s more good memories than bad.

Dennis

The perception I gathered was that Anderson quit on this team. Injuries and rumored personal problems aside, quitting on your team is a slap in the face to every other player and every fan. I swear, at times I even got the feeling TA was ‘throwing’ games, he was so pathetic. And to throw Girafol on the same pathetic pile, why in the heck did he automatically pencil in the worst hitter in the league at leadoff day-after-day-after day?

FishSox

I think you can lay a good portion of that blame, if true, at the feet of Grifol and TLR. It’s awful hard to come to work happy each day with the belief that the guy in charge is going to fuck it up regardless of how well you play.

vanillablue

Sad ending for TA. Though he shoulders most of the blame, I do think a good manager wouldnโ€™t have let things disintegrate this badly. If Anderson was hurt, then DL him; if his off field issues were affecting him, then give him time off or do something else to help; if he was just mailing it in, then figure out how to get through to him, bench him, or just get him off the team. Grifol seemingly did none of those things. He didnโ€™t even drop him in the lineup.

I hope TA has something left in the tank and bounces back with another team. Itโ€™s too bad that his White Sox legacy will be as a brief bright spot during a very dire time for the franchise.

FishSox

Very much agreed. A good manager would, if TA was able to play and not hurt, moved him down in the lineup and explained to him that it’s not a demotion, it’s just to take the pressure off until he regains his pop.

Watching Grifol insert him back into leadoff when Benintendi had been raking in that spot, was just more testimony to, my manager is a moron and we don’t stand a chance.

oldtimer

Well, well, well. TA, Liam and Grandal. $45M or thereabouts. How can we possibly do better with that $45M. Mr Getz has a real opportunity here. I’ll be watching how the first $45M of 2024 money will be spent. There are low bars and then there are real low bars.

vanillablue

Sorry but I donโ€™t believe youโ€™re really an old-timer if you think the Sox are actually going to spend that $45M.

oldtimer

Sorry for the late response. Had to get some rest the grandkids pooped me out. Honestly, I do think the Sox will spend that $45M. My hope is the negative WAR represented by these 3 players can be converted to a decent positive WAR. Maybe 5+.

upnorthsox

You forgot Clevinger, that’s an additional $8 mil. You can add Andrus to that too for another $3 mil. That leaves them with an active payroll including deferred and retained salaries of $84 mil. If they don’t add any long term contracts they could be down to $34 mil for active and retained going into 2025. I mean if 2024 is really lost already then why wouldn’t you.

oldtimer

No – He actually repesented some bang for his bucks. I just rattled off 3 players that gave us absolutely nothing for $45M without going into the weeds for marginal players who didn’t produce.

John

I’d say JR has a real opportunity to picket $45M. He’s made it plain with his insular hires and incessant meddling that he’s neither intelligent about baseball nor serious about winning. What he does know how to do is pinch those pennies. Hope I’m wrong, but I think they’re reloading this year, which is a nice way of saying Jerry’s wallet needs a breather for a year.

ShorewoodWhiteSoxFan

NOW BATTING third for your 2024 Chicago White Sox: the designated hitter, Shohei Ohtani.

Last edited 1 year ago by ShorewoodWhiteSoxFan
Alfornia Jones

passed the first test Getzy. now trade Eloy for a bag of lint, and maybe we got something.

Dennis

I actually think Eloy may bring back a warm body. When clicking, Eloy has plus batting skills. But for all the rest of his ‘game’, the W Sox have to move on from him. Like most of the roster that either underproduced or never developed, bye Mom.

HallofFrank

Yeah Iโ€™ve seen several OPPs that traded Eloy for no one! Iโ€™m sure they had in mind โ€œwhatever they can getโ€ in prospects. But I donโ€™t get it. Unless you think Eloy is a clubhouse cancer, I donโ€™t understand trading him for โ€œwhatever.โ€ Heโ€™s at least a formidable bat with upside. Iโ€™ll be very surprised if the Sox install a better idea for DH, given how many holes there are to patch elsewhere.

Dennis

Yep, HOF – I think Boston and Fenway might be a match for Eloy, maybe Coors, probably others. To me, Soler was a similar profile and he brought the Cubs Wade Davis, who made the All-Star team that year, I think. I think the Marlins were asking for Eloy when KW insisted it had to be Burger (who netted Sox Eder).

John

@HallofFrank I don’t think he’s a cancer per se. I’ve read that he’s generally happy go lucky, but doesn’t take his job seriously, which is a bad example to set. Grifol needs to kick his butt. Everyone, regardless of talent, regardless of contract status, needs to put in the work. Eloy has the talent to be an even better hitter than Robert, but he needs to really bust his tail to get there.

FishSox

When I was trying to figure an OPP, I looked at trading Eloy. He had a -7 value. I do think Alfornia Jones was being too negative. We should be able to get half a bag of batting practice balls for Eloy.

HallofFrank

Fair enough. Maybe itโ€™s just saving the money. But even last year when he struggled he was an above average hitter. They could do better than him, sure. But they could also do worse.

John

In a way, I think his prodigious talent is actually working against him. This may be the first level that’s really challenging for him. He’s used to being a dominant hitter, like he was throughout he minors. As you say, he was slightly above average in a down year, but slightly above average is far below his potential. He needs a different mindset now.

HallofFrank

Maybe. But heโ€™s also only a year removed from his best year (141 OPS+). Injury shortened (of course) but the bat is still lively. I think itโ€™s worth keeping him around for one more year, especially since they have so little shot in โ€˜24, anyway. If he bounces back, heโ€™d make for a nice trade piece at the deadline.

FishSox

Honestly, he’s not going anywhere unless it’s at the trade deadline and he’s lifting the ball. The Sox don’t have a better DH option and there’s no reason to invest in one for 2024.

John

And there was much rejoicing. Yaaaayyy!

TAโ€™s 4 year prime 2018-2021 was fantastic: he was never the best shortstop in the league just as his proclamation that the White Sox were the best team in the AL was never true. But there was a hell of a lot to respect and enjoy.

TA was a fun, intense, dynamic player: defensive lapses were frustrating but he had a number of solid years at SS; he won a batting title, which I donโ€™t think Iโ€™ve seen mentioned in any of these threadsโ€”cโ€™mon Sox fans!!!; his hitting in those two abbreviated post seasons was very un-White Sox like; he seemed to be on base every other inning!; though โ€œclutchnessโ€ his no longer believed in, I think itโ€™s fair to say that a healthy TA was a โ€œbig gameโ€ playerโ€ฆ

Sadly, injuries, off the field issues and playing for a โ€œsmall timeโ€ owner and front office derailed what looked to be so promisingโ€ฆ.

Iโ€™m glad they didnโ€™t pick up the $14 million option, but Iโ€™ll be rooting for TA to bounce back and to get some post season magic in his future.

On the other note, think that Eloy is a tough one for the trade simulator; I traded him for Jonathan India in my plan as I think that is a plausible return give the reds middle infield logjam and the Sox desire to move on from potential sluggers who just donโ€™t slug enough to endure their other sever limitations on a baseball field.

burning-phoneix

Management should just come out and say that the Sox are going into a rebuild. Even if we entertain the notion that Jerry will finally open his pocket book, there’s just no good middle infield players on the market and not enough pieces in the farm to trade for one (and trading Colson or Noah Schultz should be a riotable offense).

FishSox

Just by definition, wouldn’t a rebuild mean that there actually was a build they’re redoing?

Semantically, this is how they can claim, this isn’t a rebuild.

Last edited 1 year ago by FishSox
StockroomSnail

It’s a re-teardown!

StockroomSnail

It’s just a bummer it’s come to this. Tim was so much fun and became unfun so quickly.

He went from fighting white sox doom to just fighting badly.

I’d like to see him get some more big moments for sure.

FishSox

I can remember being at Mil County Stadium watching Alexei commit 3 errors in a game and shouting at him, Tim Anderson’s coming for your job.

Dennis

I’d have to look up the timetable, but in Alexei’s final year, not only was Anderson on the way, Semien had been there and just got traded the offseason before, and a teenager named Tatis, Jr was signed soon thereafter. Not quite the chain of Appling-Carrasquel-Aparicio, but trading Semien and Tatis, Jr to stick with TA is on KW/RH, IMO.