White Sox Rumors: 3 teams that make sense for Tim Anderson
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have what they need to make any trade.
Currently, in third place, the long-time owners of the NL West are falling behind the surging Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. To maximize their lineup, their star player learned new positions to squeeze more capable bats into the lineup.
Despite mainly roaming right field for 69% of the season, Mookie Betts has started 13 games at second base and eight at shortstop.
Their everyday shortstop is long-time Marlin Miguel Rojas. Following Trea Turner signing a mega deal with the Phillies, the Dodgers had to find a replacement quickly. In early January, they sent top infield prospect Jacob Amaya to Miami for a band-aid in Rojas.
At the time, the signing made sense. Despite not turning heads, Rojas has a reputation as a hard-working player and leader, so Dodger fans were optimistic.
Since the lineup was still basically an All-Star one, many did not fret. Fast forward to late June, the Dodgers are in third, the fanbase is sweating and looking for answers.
The weakest spot in the Dodgers lineup by far is the shortstop position. Batting ninth constantly, Rojas has yet to figure it out this season, batting an abysmal .535 OPS. Anderson's .581 OPS is not any better between the two but he is more likely to break out of this slump.
In return, the White Sox will have to play their cards right. The Dodgers have some leverage in that Anderson's OPS+ is a disappointing 61, well below the league average of 100. Some leverage the White Sox have is the club option in 2024.
Meaning Anderson won't be a 2023 rental but the Dodgers would have an extra year of control on top of the half-season this year.
On top of his reputation as a franchise's face, he could help the White Sox bring in haul to tackle multiple weak spots on the team.
Assuming Rojas will be sent to Chicago, a generous Dodgers package would include two top-30 prospects max. One will be higher on the list than the other.
Some higher-ranked prospects to highlight are second baseman and outfielder #3 Michael Busch, outfielder #6 Andy Pages, or RHPs Gavin Stone or Ryan Pepiot, ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Top-catching prospect Diego Cartaya might be out of reach, but ranked seventh in the system, Dalton Rushing is interesting.
A few prospects on the opposite side of the top 15 of interest include second and third baseman Jorbit Vivas, #19 LHP Ronan Kopp, #20 outfielder Jonny Deluca, or #25 shortstop Alex Freeland.