Angels make big Tim Anderson roster decision amid struggles

Not too long ago, Tim Anderson was one of the best shortstops in baseball, and the Chicago White Sox were viewed as World Series contenders with him on the team. Anderson ended up leaving Chicago in 2023 after he and the team took a big step in the wrong direction, and the White Sox are now one of the worst teams in baseball. Anderson is now with the Los Angeles Angels, and his struggles have continued. In fact, he is being sent down to the minors.

“The Angels have designated Tim Anderson for assignment,” Alden González said in a post.

This season has not been kind to Tim Anderson as he was hitting just .205 before getting sent down. He had a .499 OPS, zero home runs and just three RBIs on the season. He has been struggling badly.

In 2019, Anderson had one of the best bats in baseball. He had a breakout season as he finished the year hitting .335 with an OPS of .865. He also hit 18 home runs that season. That was the start of a great four-year stretch for Anderson as he hit over .300 in every season through 2022. He also hit 51 homers during that stretch. The last three years have been very different.

Since hitting .301 in 2022, Anderson hasn’t been over .245, and he has gotten worse each year. In the last three seasons, he has hit just one home run. His OPS hasn’t been higher than .582. Anderson was one of the best players in the game, but things have gone downhill quickly.

Who knows what the issue has been with Tim Anderson, but this move by Angels is one that has been expected. Anderson isn’t close to playing at the level that he was at a few years ago, and he has been trending in the wrong direction.

Maybe a trip to the minor leagues will help Tim Anderson build his confidence back up and he can come back with some resemblance to his old self. That’s all the Angels can hope for at this point.