The offseason saw the rumor mill link the Marlins with veteran shortstop Tim Anderson after the 30-year-old’s 2024 option was rejected by the White Sox. On February 22, the two sides reportedly came to terms, as Miami hopes that Anderson will be a major upgrade at shortstop.
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A Look at Anderson
Heading into 2023, the idea of Tim Anderson signing a one-year, “show me” deal in free agency seemed like an unforeseeable outcome. After all, Anderson posted four straight .300+ AVG campaigns before 2023 and has been known as one of the game’s better contact hitters.
That was, however, before a brutal 2023 campaign.
It was a year to forget for Anderson, who dealt with a myriad of injury issues. The 30-year-old went down with a knee sprain in Minnesota early on in the 2023 campaign and his production slid from there.
At the time of Anderson’s injury in April, the 30-year-old batted .298 — he had five multi-hit games over the first two weeks — with a .731 OPS. But by the end of the 2023 campaign, Anderson hit just .245 and posted the lowest OPS (.582) in the league among qualified hitters.
Traditionally an outstanding hitter, albeit an aggressive one, who can stay back and handle offspeed and breaking balls well, Anderson batted below .200 against both types in 2023. Anderson has never been a power hitter but he posted just one home run and 21 extra-base hits over 542 plate appearances.
Defensively, Anderson’s spent virtually his entire MLB career at short. The 30-year-old has two appearances at second and did play there during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
When healthy, Anderson doesn’t have terrible range at short. However, the age factor and his strong defensive performance at the 2023 WBC do make it likely he’ll need to move over at some point.
The White Sox could have retained Anderson for 2024, given that Chicago had a club option on him. However, the Sox opted to reject the option. Instead, he’ll join the Marlins and likely play alongside Luis Arraez on a one-year deal reportedly worth $5MM.
Analysis
The Marlins seemed like a logical fit for Anderson from the onset. Miami shortstops posted the lowest wRC+ (55) in the game last season (h/t Fangraphs), in a year where Joey Wendle and utilityman Jon Berti saw significant time at the position.
Prospect Jacob Amaya, acquired in the Miguel Rojas trade last year, could be the long-term solution for the position. But at least for 2024, it appears that the ex-White Sox should slot in at short for Miami.
No, Anderson doesn’t solve the Marlins’ power problem, one that got larger with the loss of OF/DH Jorge Soler. But, his bat can help with getting runs across, an issue for Miami last season.
If Anderson can return to his pre-2023 form, this is a win for both the shortstop and the Marlins. Anderson can re-enter the free agent pool again next winter.
At the same time, Miami hopes to receive significantly better production from the shortstop position in what should be yet another competitive season for the Marlins.