Why letting Tim Anderson go still does not make any sense for the White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have made a ton of signings this offseason, but none signal to the fanbase that this team is trying to compete in 2024. Like any team in a rebuilding phase, the sole focus should be to attain talent and develop the players on the roster.

Colson Montgomery is one of the most talented prospects in all of MLB, but he most likely will not be ready to play in the big leagues for the first part of 2024.

Chris Getz decided to sign Paul DeJong to be the stop-gap shortstop this season, deciding to decline Tim Anderson’s $14 million option and buy him out for $1 million. A player of Anderson’s caliber being cut over a meager amount is a travesty.

In 2020, Anderson was seventh in AL MVP voting, then in 2021-2022, he had back-to-back All-Star appearances. A $14 million salary would place Anderson as the 10th highest-paid shortstop in 2024. However, Trevor Story would rank 8th and earns $22.5 million, indicating that top-tier shortstops are paid well and sought after.

Over the years, Anderson has outplayed his contract, so the idea of letting him walk instead of paying him $14 million, does not make sense for 2024, and beyond.

Tim Anderson will likely bounce back this upcoming season. Honestly, it can’t get much worse than 2023 for the 30-year-old former Sox shortstop. Last season, his value was at his lowest, so it made sense for the White Sox not to trade him when they could trade him for more if they brought him back. However, they decided against it, ultimately getting nothing in return for the multi-time all-star.

It has been the subject of a lot of memes online that the White Sox have been trying to emulate the Kansas City Royals, the irony is, they could have replicated a savvy move done by the Royals last year, which was to retain Aroldis Chapman for cheap and flip him at the trade deadline for assets.

The Pirates did this last year too, signing Rich Hill to a one-year contract before trading him to the San Diego Padres.

The risk to reward ratio was not enough to justify letting Anderson walk for nothing, and with Anderson not breaking the bank, it would have been nice to see the White Sox try and flip him at the 2024 deadline for a promising talent.