Free agent infielder Tim Anderson is open to playing either shortstop or second base next season, Stadium's Russell Dorsey reported Wednesday morning.
The longtime Chicago White Sox star has logged just 18.0 innings at second base, compared to 7,662.0 innings at short, over the course of his eight-year MLB career. Anderson did play second for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this past March, though, while Trea Turner held down the fort at short.
Chicago declined Anderson's $14 million club option back on Nov. 4, freeing him up to sign with any team in the league after a decade in the White Sox organization.
Anderson being flexible enough to play either second base or shortstop could give him a few more suitors on the open market, per Dorsey, with free agency just now getting underway.
Anderson made his MLB debut in 2016, finishing seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting, but he didn't break out until he won the AL batting title in 2019. Anderson won a Silver Slugger and placed seventh in AL MVP voting in 2020, then he made back-to-back All-Star Games in 2021 and 2022.
From 2019 to 2022, Anderson was a .318 hitter with an .820 OPS.
Anderson's production at the plate fell off a cliff in 2023, though, as he hit just .245 with one home run, 25 RBI and a .582 OPS in 123 games. His -2.0 WAR was the lowest of his career by far, coming off a stretch during which he averaged a 5.0 WAR per 162 games.
Clubhouse drama and a record-long suspension hung over Anderson's 2023 campaign as well, with his role in a benches-clearing brawl against the Cleveland Guardians standing out as his most widely-discussed lowlight.
It remains to be seen what Anderson's value will be on the open market, but it is surely lighter than it would have been in the past few offseasons. According to Spotrac, the 30-year-old infielder could be in line for a one-year, $5 million deal.
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