WEDNESDAY, 11:27am: Anderson’s going to the IL, though the severity of his injury is still unknown, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Garcia will start at short for the White Sox on Wednesday.
9:39am: Anderson has a high ankle sprain and is wearing a walking boot, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report. An IL stint does seem likely for Anderson, but the team will know more after he goes for an MRI.
TUESDAY: White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson left the team’s game Tuesday against the Red Sox because of a sprained right ankle. X-Rays came back negative, though a stint on the injured list is still a legitimate possibility, James Fegan of The Athletic suggests. Anderson will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the sprain.
An IL stay would temporarily halt what has been a career offensive season for Anderson. After combining for an 86 wRC+ in 1,643 plate appearances during his first three seasons from 2016-18, Anderson’s up to 122 in that category this year.
Over 281 trips to the plate in 2019, the 26-year-old Anderson has slashed .317/.342/.491 with 11 home runs and 15 stolen bases. Anderson’s production has dropped as the season has gone on, however, and further regression could be in store. After all, he owns the league’s worst K/BB ratio, a sky-high .375 batting average on balls in play and a 22-point gap between his .354 weighted on-base average and .332 expected wOBA.
While good fortune has aided Anderson’s numbers this year, he’s still one of Chicago’s most valuable players and building blocks. It’s fair to say Anderson’s absence would further damage the team’s fading playoff hopes. During the rare occasions Anderson hasn’t lined up at shortstop this year, the White Sox have turned to Jose Rondon and Leury Garcia in his stead. Rondon has been dreadful this season, though, while Garcia is the club’s preferred starter in center field.
I agree with the term “fading playoff hopes” but it is more of an abberition than anything else. How this team “expects” to have a shot at the WC is beyond me. Trotting Despaigne, Banuelos and Nova out to the rubber every 5th day just guarantees another losing season. Not to mention the Ervin Santana failure in the first month of the season. I understand that things are looking up with Giolito, Cease, Kopech, and a slew of other pitching studs coming up within the next year or so, and bags of money to spend on FA SP(Gerrit Cole), but this year is already over as far as playoff chances are concerned. Love my Sox and what they have going on in the next 10 years, but with the SP fill-ins, this season was over before it even started.
Fading playoff hopes? wrong statement since the sox have yet to be in any sort of playoff chase all season to begin with. Especially when general pitching stats rank next to last in the league and 14.5 games out of 1st and 6 games from the wc on a losing streak. Cue Jim Mora
Yes fading playoff hopes. That’s the term Connor Byrne used if you took the time to read the article
i read the article. sox have as much of a chance to make the playoffs as the cubs will win another world series.
Thanks for reading. Don’t know what the cubs have to do with this article, but when the Sox were 3 games out of a wild card as little as a week ago there were some playoff hopes alive. After some injuries and failures of some SP, those hopes are fading, hence why Connor used that term in the article.
I didn’t know the season was over yet. Damn who are the teams making the playoffs?
Sox have a -65 in run differential. Sorta like sayiing when the giants trade bumgaurten, their playoffs hopes will fade.
And Schwarbers OPS is 785. Yet here we are
Now you’ll just hear, “if only he didn’t have that ankle injury” instead of those screaming peripherals as to why he’ll come crashing back to earth
More insightful TED Talk from the Williams wannabe.
Btw: I highly doubt that the real Walter Francis White would have stooped to such a comment if he were alive today. Perhaps you should consider “honoring” some other icons while you’re at it. 🙁
@walterfranciswhite
Congratulations, you just posted the Idiotic Comment of the Day!
With the season half over, it must be frustrating to still be waiting for those peripherals to kick in. Stay vigilant and keep fighting the good fight. LOL
Uh, I’m pretty sure an ankle injury is going to affect his speed, which is a big part of his game. So it’s not like an ankle injury would be an “excuse” for his performance taking a little dip.
Was it bat-throwing related?
It was not: mlb.com/whitesox/news/tim-anderson-exits-right-leg…
Instead of “sky-high”, I think you meant to say, “totally awesome” BABIP.
“Untenable” best describes a high BABIP.
BABIP is not a great stat BY ITSELF. A high BABIP combined with an increased hard hit rate can make that higher BABIP more sustainable.
How come there is no article fromMLBTR about Stanton yet?
Because it was a knee contusion. So no need for the knee jerk reaction.
@Ichiro51
Unless you’re a Yankees fan, who cares? And if you are a Yankees fan, why would you even care about the White Sox right now to comment on this board?
I thought he had hurt himself on the ill-advised head first slide on his ill-advised dash for second on the hit he smoked off the wall moments earlier. I wish this team would:
1) Stop laughing after near fielding collisions. See Anderson/Abreu and Jimenez/Garcia last night. I know they’re trying to ‘have fun’ out there, but the frequent lack of coordination in the field is amateurish.
2) Stop running into outs. Stop confusing aggression with foolishness. It’s NOT ‘fun’.
He hurt himself making a great defensive play on wet grass. Your points are valid, but now you know how he got hurt.
Neither of those things were ill-advised. If JD gets the ball instead of JBJ jumping in front of him, he’s safe 100 times out of 100. If JBJ doesn’t make an excellent throw, he’s safe 100 times out of 100.
Attempting to steal third with no outs against the Cubs was ill-advised. This was not.
I still say ill-advised. With the heart of the order coming up, that was a painful and critical out. Good play by the Carmines, but it wasn’t all that close. As for the head first slide, that’s a totally different debate. Love Tim, though, hope he gets back soon.
Fulmer burdi and Hansen for wheeler and Frazier
@king beas
No thanks. The Sox already had Frazier once, and that was more than enough.
Anderson should stick to fundamentals in the field. He is too nonchalant and it has cost them several games. Great talent if he stops acting like he is the best at his position. He isn’t
He wants to be the Sox version of Baez
You know, there is a big world outside of Wrigley. Some of you guys should get out and experience it sometime.
Murphy’s Bleachers might be his limit.
This. LOL. I’m dying over here!
Soon time to call up Alcides Escobar from Charlotte?
I have a better idea. Just promote 2B Nick Madrigal from AA Birmingham and let Jose Rondon, Leury Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez split time at SS and utility roles until Tim Anderson can get back on the diamond.
Unlike Eloy Jimenez, Madrigal doesn’t need to improve his defense at AAA before his MLB debut. He can do everything on the field except hit HR’s. He might hit a couple bombs in that bandbox ballpark in downtown Charlotte but he’s already proving that better pitching hasn’t hurt his ability to hit for average and make less contact. Since his promotion to AA covering 16 games and 67 PA’s, Madrigal is hitting .393 with an OBP of .456 that includes 6 walks, 1 whiff and zero errors at 2B. With his elite contact skills he just might be one of those rare hitters who actually hits better as he climbs the pro baseball ladder.
Btw: I was remiss in not mentioning that Madrigal also has 9 SB’s for AA Birmingham and 26 for the season thus far through his first 65 games played. That is 4 more than speedy teammate Luis Robert has posted this year.
Since Madrigal’s promotion to AA, Robert has been the Barons exclusive leadoff hitter while Madrigal has followed him in the #2 role. This is precisely where each figure to hit in the White Sox future lineup once they’re settled in. It’s possible that each could see their MLB debuts in 2019, even more likely in the early portions of the 2020 season.
As has been the general m.o. in MLB, service time issues might play a role with each of their promotions. The White Sox were hesitant to promote Eloy Jimenez until he accepted their unprecedented contract extension prior to his South Side debut by opening day this season. I can easily see the White Sox pulling a similar tactic with both Madrigal and Robert, neither of whom have the defensive limitations or lack of a run tool that Jimenez possesses.
In fact, Madrigal might be the safest risk of virtually any prospect offered such an extension. The White Sox had a good idea of who they were drafting with their overall #1 pick a year ago last June…a high BA/OBP contact hitter who can steal bases, field 2B with Gold Glove ability and perform all the other intangibles that make a player great on the diamond. Madrigal has lived up to all of these expectations and should do the same with the White Sox as they transition from rebuilders to contenders by next season.
While I get your point, I’m okay with letting Madrigal get a bit more time in the minors to feel comfortable with the bat. With all he has done in AA, he was rather average in A (although his strikeout rate is insanely low – like Nellie Fox :)) and as you pointed out he has fewer than 100 PAs in Birmingham.
Now, there really is no reason whatsoever to have Jose Rondon taking up a roster spot… if you don’t want the veterans Escobar or Goins to fill that spot, then let Mendick have a shot… he can’t be worse.
The Sox aren’t gonna start the clock on Madrigal or Robert this year, in my humble opinion. They’re tied for the 9th or 10th pick (I’m too tired to look it up now), and don’t have the arms in the rotation to keep them near .500. The best pick they can hope to get is the sixth pick in next year’s draft. By that time, Dylan “Won’t Sign a Team-friendly Extension” Cease, Robert, and Madrigal will all be in the show.
Madrigal needs more time. 67 PAs in AA is not enough. The Sox will want to see how the league’s pitchers adjust to him at this point, and in turn see how he adjusts to their adjustments.
If memory serves me correctly, the only player who was called up in recent memory with less than 400 PAs was Alex Bregman.
There’s not many players who are ready within that range of plate appearances, and I don’t see the Sox rushing him any faster than that.
As I have stated before and unfortunately it needs to be stated again with some good players being injured around the game. Just don’t like to see players get injured. As an MLB fan, you always want to see all teams at their best. Tim Anderson has taken a big step forward, is fun to watch and having a real good season. Hopefully for Tim and the White Sox this injury is not serious. Hoping for a full and speedy recovery.
He should of been placed on the 10 day last night. Now, moncada left the game after a HBP and the bench consists of a catcher and 1b. At the very least bring up Mendick or Escobar
I would never wish injury on anyone. I think once Anderson is off the DL. He’ll come back to earth. He’s hitting everything in site. And he’s no better than a Cesar izturis type player at SS. Maybe Andres Blanco too. Pretty good at defense but those guys never had power. And Anderson suddenly has power.
Anderson hit 17 and 20 hrs his past two seasons. There is nothing sudden about his home run production.
This guy also compared Rutschman to a couple players with limited power, so I wouldn’t take his opinion on players too seriously.
Rutschman is all hype.
Tim anderston is just not that good.
My poor wife has heard this a million times, but although Anderson has progressed nicely with the stick, he’s a ghastly shortstop: a great athlete who has no idea how to play the position despite almost 800 games at the professional level.
Watch his footwork, his glove to hand transfer, his decision-making (WS lost in the bottom of the 9th Tuesday because Anderson didn’t know where to go with the ball in a force-at-any-base situation), his focus. He can’t turn a deuce to save his life. He’s always among the league-leaders in errors. He’s 26 years old, not 17.
And White Sox players NEVER get better at fundamentals.