White Sox, Tim Anderson Reportedly Agree On Six Year Extension
By Rob Hill
White Sox reportedly extend young shortstop. The South Siders appear to have a future face of the franchise in the 2013 first round pick.
After missing three consecutive games due to unexplained circumstances, the mystery seems to be solved as Ken Rosenthal reports the Chicago White Sox and shortstop Tim Anderson have agreed upon a six year/$25 million extension with options.
This new contract will take Anderson through the 2023 season with potential options for 2024 and 2025. The new contract is a historic one as it is the longest contract given to a player after having just one year of service time at the big league level. Anderson will go through his arbitration years, and his first two seasons of free agency and could be in a White Sox uniform until he’s 31 years old.
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Anderson, 23, is arguably the face of a White Sox rebuild. With the Jimmy Rollins experiment not lasting three full months last season, Anderson was called up to claim the starting shortstop job in early June. He showcased his speed, athleticism, and a surprising amount of power. Anderson finished his rookie campaign hitting .283/.306/.432 with nine home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 10 stolen bases in just over 400 at bats.
That was good enough for just seventh place in Rookie of the Year voting in the American League. The Alabama born shortstop was a bright spot for the Sox during a very bleak 2016 season.
Anderson was originally the White Sox first round pick (17th overall) back in the 2013 draft. He played for East Central Community College in Alabama before getting noticed by Major League scouts. Anderson was a two sport player in high school. He did not begin to play baseball until his junior, but he was highly regarded as one of the best high school point guards in Alabama.
His two sport prowess eventually transferred over to baseball full time and he displayed sparks of excellence last season. Whether it was a patented Derek Jeter jump throw from short left field, or his blazing speed on the base paths, Anderson appears to be the next in a long line of great White Sox shortstops.
So far this spring, Anderson has lit up the Cactus League going 12-36 (.333) with one homer and three runs batted in. As Anderson to continues to hone his craft at the plate and in the field this spring, this is something the White Sox have done before. In recent seasons, former Sox southpaw Chris Sale, current ace Jose Quintana, and former outfielder Adam Eaton were all locked up on affordable 4-5 year contract extensions.
The White Sox front office pounced on their opportunities to lock up franchise players and it has paid off every time. The extensions given to Sale/Eaton allowed the Sox to trade them away for their talent this past offseason. The same can be said for Quintana as the Sox are still trying to actively shop him. The time was right to lock up Anderson as he is ready to enter All-Star territory.
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As the Sox look to play for the future, you can expect to see Anderson leading the charge, and leading the Sox back into postseason contention within the next few years.