Report: Tim Anderson moves to NL, reaches agreement with Marlins
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Tim Anderson has found a new home, and it’s in the National League.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Thursday morning that Anderson, a two-time All-Star shortstop for the White Sox, reached agreement with the Miami Marlins on a one-year, $5 million deal, pending a physical.
Anderson spent the first eight seasons of his big-league career with the White Sox after being selected by the organization with the 17th overall pick of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft out of East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss.
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Anderson made his big-league debut on June 10, 2016, at age 22 and went on to bat .282 with a .312 on-base percentage, a .422 slugging percentage, 98 homers, 338 RBI and 117 stolen bases over his first eight big-league seasons.
In three straight seasons, from 2019 to 2021, Anderson had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) above .800, a fantastic offensive number for a middle infielder. He led the American League with a .335 batting average in 2019, led the league with 45 runs scored in the shortened 2020 season and was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022.
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Anderson also helped lead the White Sox to back-to-back postseason appearances in 2020 and 2021, batting .485 with a 1.030 OPS in two playoff series with the club.
However, Anderson’s production declined dramatically in 2023, as he posted career lows in OBP (.286), slugging (.296) and OPS (.582), while hitting just one homer with 26 walks and 122 strikeouts in 524 plate appearances.
The White Sox declined their team option on Anderson in early November, paying him a $1 million buyout rather than the $14 million they would have owed him had they picked up the option.
That made Anderson a free agent, and now he’ll move to the NL for the first time in his career.
He’s also the second former White Sox All-Star to sign with a team in free agency as teams begin their spring training regimens. Earlier this week, the Boston Herald reported that veteran reliever Liam Hendriks, who had spent the last three seasons with the White Sox, will join the Boston Red Sox on a two-year deal, per a Red Sox team source.
Like Anderson, Hendriks was an All-Star for the White Sox in 2021 and 2022, but the club declined a team option on Hendriks this offseason to make him a free agent.
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