Central Hospital:  Once MLBbros Tim Anderson & Byron Buxton Went Down, Their Squads Didn’t Stand A Chance

Central Hospital:  Once MLBbros Tim Anderson & Byron Buxton Went Down, Their Squads Didn’t Stand A Chance

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton are two of the biggest names in baseball, and with that type of fame comes great expectations. Unfortunately for both superstar MLBbros, this season failed to meet lofty expectations for one reason or another.  

 

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Both clubs will miss the playoffs this year, but how does that happen? 

Now of course the White Sox were the favorites entering the season, but after the Twins hot start turned into a hot couple of months there were some around baseball who thought Buxton and Co. could shock everyone and win the AL Central. First, let’s take a look at what went wrong in the Twin Cities.

Injury Bug Bites Buxton, Again

Buxton’s injury history has been well documented, especially here on MLBbro.com. It looked like we were finally about to get a full season of production out of Byron. He was hitting bombs and playing a Gold Glove caliber defense in center, and most importantly the Twins had jumped out to an early lead in the division.

 

 

That was until Buxton’s annual trip(s) to the injured list began yet again. Byron spent over a month on the shelf with a hip strain, and without their superstar, the chinks in Minnesota’s armor was quickly revealed. The Twins would slowly lose their grip on the division, and his return to the lineup was short-lived. After attempting to play through the pain of a sore knee, the first thing to send him to IR this season, Byron chose to undergo season ending knee surgery on Tuesday.

Buxton only played in 92 games this season, bringing his grand total of seasons with less than 100 games played to seven. That’s alarming when you consider the fact that he’s been in the league eight seasons and Minnesota opened the bank book for him with a $100M contract, expecting his injury woes to be behind him. Despite losing another season to injury, Byron seems optimistic about his season being done.

White Sox Stumbled and Never Recovered

Now injuries may have cut Tim Anderson’s season short as well, but the Chicago White Sox were mediocre at best even with TA in the lineup. They struggled to get to .500 on the season, and even when they did reach the mark they didn’t elevate much further. As it stands, the White Sox will most likely finish nearly 20 games under their projected 98 game win total. 

 

 

Anderson, much like Buxton in Minny, played well to start the season despite his teams struggles. He was still arguably the best leadoff hitter in the game, although his power numbers began to plummet. Now that we know torn ligaments in his hand were the cause of his season ending surgery, there should be some optimism around his power returning. 

Even if his power returns, chances are high that the White Sox will look like a completely different ball club. Their owner Jerry Reinsdorf is known for only wanting to win on his terms, and those terms never involve paying a high premium for mediocre results. Look for the Sox to make some changes this year, from the Hall of Fame manager on down. 

Although free agency is a few years away for Anderson, Sox fans should begin to wonder if Reinsdorf will even pay to keep him in Chicago. The White Sox have never given out a contract valued over $100 million in team history, and with his cache in the game today it’s safe to say that won’t be enough to keep TA7 in Chicago.