LOS ANGELES – Even though he’s missed more than a quarter of games so far, 2023 has been one eventful year for Tim Anderson.
2023 Tough For Tim Anderson
After making the All-Star roster the previous two season, this year has been pretty disappointing for the former AL batting champ, as he’s batting just .223 with no home runs, 13 RBI, an on-base percentage of .259, and a slugging percentage of .263, much more south from the .301/.339/.395 slashline he had just a season ago.
The thing is, in the first 11 games of the year, Anderson started off doing pretty well, as he was batting .298, looking like his normal self.
However, he then landed on the IL on April 10th with a sprained knee, and didn’t return to the lineup until May 2nd. Since his return, he’s batted just above the Mendoza Line at .207, and his last 30 games have been atrocious to say the least, as he’s batting .165 during that stretch. He also had some baby mama drama that undoubtedly distracted him at times.
It doesn’t help that he’s playing on arguably the most disappointing team in the league with the Chicago White Sox, as they’re currently 38-54, and are eight games back of the Minnesota Twins for the lead.
After winning the division convincingly back in 2021, all seemed to be pointing up for the team that resides in the southside of Chicago.
Just one and a half years removed from that division crown, the franchise seems to have fallen back to the mediocrity that we’ve been so used to seeing from them since their 2005 World Series win that seems ages ago.
To make things worse, this season could potentially be a contract year for Anderson, depending on if the club picks up his 14 million dollar option. If the season keeps going downward for him, who’s to say that the team won’t pick up his option in order for them or another team to try and sign him for a much cheaper price.
Anderson had been very vocal during the offseason that he’s not happy with his contract situation, as he was liking tweets that stated that he would be wearing a different team’s jersey in the foreseeable future.
Unless the White Sox go on an absolute tear after the All-Star break, there’s a very good possibility that they will be sellers when the trade deadline approaches.
Even with his poor year, Anderson could still be seen as Chicago’s most valuable piece that contenders would inquire about, so it’ll be interesting to see if Chicago tries to move him at the deadline to try and get whatever they can, especially since he’s now on the other side of 30.
There will be so much riding on the line in these last 70 or so games for Anderson. If he can pick it up, then he could be seen by several teams as that “final piece” to a World Series run, and would probably have his $14 million option picked up by whatever team he’s on.
While that may not have been what he wanted originally, this seems like a very good outcome for how everything has played out up to this point.
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