The White Sox appear to be progressively accepting that this isn’t their yr. A depressing 8-21 begin in March and April put them in a nasty spot out of the gate. They managed to remain afloat by going 15-14 in Might after which 13-13 in June, maintaining them close to rivalry in a weak American League Central division. However they slid a bit additional just lately, going 2-6 in July previous to the All-Star break. Their total file of 38-54 has them eight video games again within the division and even additional again within the Wild Card race.

As of a couple of month in the past, it was reported that they have been hoping to restrict their upcoming summer season sell-off to simply rental gamers. However reporting from yesterday signifies they’ve widened that stance, now prepared to commerce nearly anybody on the roster aside from Luis Robert Jr., Dylan Stop, Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jiménez.

One of many extra attention-grabbing commerce candidates they should take into account is shortstop Tim Anderson. The extension he signed with the membership again in 2017 was assured by 2022 with a pair of membership choices. The Sox triggered the 2023 choice and nonetheless have the potential to take action once more for 2024.

The choice to set off the primary choice was a straightforward one, as Anderson had emerged as a strong above-average common for the membership over the course of his deal. He was a strong speed-and-defense participant within the first couple of years however subpar on the plate. He took an enormous step ahead in 2019 and maintained it within the years to come back. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .318/.347/.473 for a wRC+ of 123, indicating he was 23% above league common. When mixed along with his baserunning and glovework, he was capable of produce 13.6 wins above substitute in 374 video games, in line with the calculations of FanGraphs.

On the finish of final season, the Sox needed to resolve between triggering a $12.5MM choice for 2023 or shopping for him out for $1MM. With many premier shortstops incomes north of $30MM yearly, that value level made Anderson a discount. Sadly, this yr has been a nightmare for him. He’s but to hit a house run this season and is batting .223/.259/.263 total for a wRC+ of simply 43, the worst manufacturing within the majors amongst gamers with at the least 250 plate appearances. The superior defensive metrics additionally take into account him to be beneath common this yr. These metrics might be fickle on a year-to-year foundation however this could be the second straight season they’ve all had him within the adverse vary.

On the offensive facet of issues, if one wished to search for indicators of hope, there are issues to squint at. Anderson’s Statcast numbers aren’t drastically completely different from earlier seasons. His common exit velocity of 88.3 mph is in the identical vary as the place he’s been in recent times and is even above his profession common of 87.5. His 109.6 mph max exit velo and 40.9% laborious hit fee are just like different seasons as properly. His dash ft of 27.2 ft per second is a couple of foot shy of his norms, however that’s not too surprising provided that he missed about three weeks with a left knee sprain.

What appears to be an actual issue is launch angle, which is averaging 0.5 levels this yr, properly beneath his profession common of 6.6. His 65.1% floor ball fee is properly above the 42.5% league common. Anderson has all the time had above-average grounder charges however was at 52% for his profession coming into this marketing campaign. All of that will maybe clarify why he doesn’t have a house run and why his .284 batting common on balls in play is thus far beneath the .376 mark he had throughout his sturdy 2019-2022 stretch.

Maybe Anderson can produce higher outcomes going ahead simply by pounding the ball into the filth much less usually. Regardless, the Sox have just a few weeks to resolve between just a few completely different paths. One is to commerce Anderson, which they’re apparently open to doing, since he wasn’t listed as one of many gamers which might be off-limits. Nevertheless, doing so would imply promoting when his worth is at a particularly low ebb, given his terrible outcomes thus far this yr.

It’s doable that some golf equipment are prepared to miss the tough season and take a shot on him. The upcoming free agent class could be very gentle on place gamers, that means the crop of accessible commerce candidates is more likely to be related. There are a number of contenders who might use center infield reinforcements, such because the Giants, Marlins, Angels, Dodgers and Brewers. These golf equipment might not have too many choices for lining up on trades. The Cardinals will possible hearken to gives on Paul DeJong, however he has his personal points with inconsistency and is not any assure to be moved with a few membership choices remaining. Groups just like the Orioles and Guardians have many infield prospects and could possibly be open buying and selling from their respective surpluses, however they’d possible be trying to half with the gamers who aren’t serving to them proper now.

Maybe that results in somebody making the Sox an intriguing provide, however it’s going to undoubtedly be lower than what they might have gotten prior to now or might probably get sooner or later. The opposite path could be to hold onto Anderson and hope he finishes sturdy sufficient for them to justify triggering his $14MM choice for 2024 as a substitute of the $1MM buyout. If he’s capable of return to his earlier stage of efficiency, that will nonetheless be good worth.

If Anderson have been certainly capable of get again to being a strong on a regular basis participant, he might maybe assist the membership have higher outcomes subsequent yr. Even when the membership stayed on the skin of a playoff race, he might improve his commerce worth relative to the place it’s at this time. However the danger could be in hanging onto him and spending $13MM on one other disappointing season. There’s additionally the harm query to think about, as numerous illnesses have prevented Anderson from tallying 125 video games in any particular person season since 2018. He’s since battled a proper ankle harm, two proper groin accidents, two left hamstring accidents, a sagittal band tear on his left center finger and this yr’s left knee sprain.

The third path could be to signal Anderson to an extension, one thing he overtly pined for again in February. No deal has come collectively up till this level and Anderson’s leverage has certainly dropped dramatically since then, when he stated there could be “no reductions” and that he wished to be “handled honest.” It’s unknown if the Sox ever had any formal negotiations with Anderson’s camp, however any gives they might have made at that time would undoubtedly be dropped if talks resumed. If the membership believed in Anderson’s skill to get again on monitor, maybe they’d attempt to purchase low and get him to comply with a lengthier pact, although doing so would basically carry the identical dangers as merely triggering his 2024 choice, solely extra so.

Every path comes with its personal upsides and disadvantages, relying on what the long run holds. Holding onto him for 2024 or longer is the good factor if he bounces again however the flawed transfer if he doesn’t, whereas the inverse is true of the buying and selling path. What do you assume is the appropriate selection? Have your say within the ballot beneath. (Hyperlink to ballot for app customers)