TODAY: The Marlins have officially announced Anderson’s signing. Sandy Alcantara (who will miss all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery) was placed on the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot for Anderson.
FEBRUARY 22: The Marlins and free agent shortstop Tim Anderson are in agreement on a one-year, $5MM contract, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The deal is pending a physical. Anderson is repped by Excel Sports Management.
Anderson, 30, was arguably the best shortstop in a very weak middle infield class. A two-time All-Star and 2019 batting champ, he looked like one of the better shortstops in the majors as recently as a season ago. He’s coming off the worst year of his career, though, as he struggled to a .245/.286/.296 batting line in 524 plate appearances. Anderson connected on just one home run.
While his offensive profile has never been driven primarily by power, he reached double digits in homers each year between 2017-21. That dropped to six homers in a 2022 season cut short by a ligament tear in his left middle finger, although he still managed a .301/.339/.395 slash. His entire offensive profile plummeted last season.
Anderson struck out in 23.3% of his plate appearances, his highest rate since 2018. He put more than three-fifths of his batted balls on the ground, a personal-high clip. That led to his worst average and on-base marks since 2018 in addition to the lowest power production of his career.
That led the White Sox to buy Anderson out for $1MM in lieu of a $14MM club option, ending a strong eight-year run on Chicago’s South Side. General manager Chris Getz has kicked off at least an abbreviated rebuild, bringing in Paul DeJong on a modest $1.75MM free agent deal to solidify the defense.
Anderson has increasingly struggled on that side of the ball as well. By measure of Defensive Runs Saved, he has rated a combined 23 runs below average over the past two seasons. Only Bobby Witt Jr. has a lower total at the position. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric hasn’t been nearly as bearish, grading Anderson slightly below par in both years. It’s possible that lower body injuries have played a role in that downturn. Over the past three seasons, he has missed time with a left hamstring strain, a right groin strain, and a sprained left knee (in addition to the aforementioned finger injury).
The veteran infielder expressed a willingness to move to the other side of the second base bag. That won’t be necessary in Miami, which has sought shortstop help throughout the winter. The Fish let Joey Wendle depart after a lackluster 2023 campaign. Jon Berti is best suited in a utility role, while none of Xavier Edwards, Jacob Amaya or Vidal Bruján is established at the MLB level.
Miami has a two-time batting champ, Luis Arraez, at the keystone. The up-the-middle pairing of Anderson and Arraez isn’t likely to be a great defensive group, but there’s significant offensive upside if Anderson rebounds. Between 2019-22, Anderson had an excellent .318/.347/.473 line in more than 1600 trips to the plate. Among hitters with at least 2000 plate appearances over the past five seasons, he’s still third in batting average. Arraez leads the way at .326, while only Freddie Freeman (.315) also stands above Anderson, who has hit .300 since 2019.
It’s a fairly inexpensive pickup for the Fish on what is remarkably their first major league free agent deal of the offseason. That means it’s also the first MLB contract for new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, who has presided over a quiet winter in South Florida. Ever present payroll constraints contributed to Miami’s decision to let Jorge Soler walk after a 36-homer season. They haven’t replaced Soler at DH or addressed the rotation in response to Sandy Alcantara’s Tommy John surgery, but Anderson brings a higher ceiling than last year’s collection of shortstops.
Roster Resource calculates the team’s player payroll around $100MM. That’s above last season’s approximate $93MM season-opening mark but still places them firmly in the league’s bottom third in spending. Miami will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move once the signing is finalized, but that’ll likely be accomplished by placing Alcantara on the 60-day injured list.
If Anderson returns to form, he’ll have a shot at a better multi-year deal a year from now. He’ll return to free agency next winter in advance of his age-32 season. Willy Adames headlines what otherwise looks like another weak group of free agent shortstops. Gleyber Torres will be the top second baseman, while Anderson and Amed Rosario (who signed a $1.5MM deal with Tampa Bay this week) are the most interesting rebound candidates.
The Marlins signed a free agent!
It’s about time they signed him! Everyone knew Miami was looking for a cheap, 1-2 year bridge SS until their prospects are ready. Anderson had the most upside of anyone left on the FA market. He’s been very good to excellent in past years and now needs to reestablish himself after a horrible 2023 if he wants to continue his career. I’m sure Anderson wanted a lot more than $5M for the year but reality set in now that spring training is here. Miami’s hoping that he’ll play with a chip on his shoulder to show the league that he’s worth much more than he is getting paid. It could end up being a great signing for Miami if Anderson is motivated to do so. If not, $5M is much easier to eat than a $10-$15M contract. Well done, Fish.
I don’t want to say number, “7”, ur-“42”, was the worst player in baseball last year, but if he hit one home run all year playing half at Guaranteed Rate just imagine at Loan Depot. Still, dollars seem right for Fish to see if 2023 was due to injuries and mojo from earlier years can be restored.
His goal was to slap a soft line drive just in front of the right fielder, or ground out (if in fewer than 3 pitches, even better!). Great job for leadoff hitter by Pedro last year.
Excited to see the beginning of the game. YES! TA take the first pitch for a smooth humpback liner to the 2nd baseman. Ugh.
“Miami’s hoping that he’ll play with a chip on his shoulder”
This guy’s always playing with a “chip on his shoulder”. And most of the time, it isn’t a good thing for him (remember getting cold cocked by Ramirez) or the team who have to regularly get in scuffles and deal with media over something stupid he says or does.
He is just a loser period …. I wouldnt want him on my team
Absolutely a good signing for those $. And if Anderson were to fully get his head out of his butt? Well then it could be the steal of the off-season.
This may be where “fresh start with a new team” could be a very good thing. He could restart his career and his reputation if he wants to. Worth the risk for the Marlins.
Could have had Amed Rosario for only $2M. Better defense and probably similar offense.
He switched leagues because he was tired of being put on the seat of his pants with one punch by Jose Ramirez!!!
provoker
Muted (troll who only posts negative comments because they can’t get attention for posting anything positive)
They signed A turd. No one else wanted Jackie. He’s a steamy dump of a human.
Down goes Anderson!
Goodnight nurse! Ahahaha!
‘And boom goes the dynamite”
If Anderson keeps his hands in his pockets and his mouth shut this is a steal.
I’m not sure I’d call it a steal – but I definitely think it’s a very nice move by the Marlins. Anderson needed to get away from all the negativity and disappointment in that White Sox environment.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a solid season this season. He is a good hitter.
This is probably the worst place for Anderson to go but also probably the only place willing to let him play short stop
He will bring negativity and disappointment with him to MIami.
He won’t be much of a SS with his hands in his pockets.
I don’t think he will bring it with him, it’s already there. Miami was a playoff team last season and was rewarded by firing their GM and making no significant moves while losing a key free agents. They are a team that lacks strong veteran leadership which is what, in my opinion, Anderson needed to be his best self. I personally think he is going to derail pretty quick in Miami
I’m not sure it’s possible for the Marlins clubhouse to be more toxic than the White Sox of 2023’s was. Between the Sox joke of a manager and Anderson’s flamboyance that ignited fires. I hope Anderson has learned to keep his mouth shut and keep his emotions in check if he wants to make serious money in the future. Even if people hate him they have to admit he’s a very good hitter and capable defender if he can stay on the field.
I’m willing to bet that he’s a big part of why the White Sox environment was so bad.
Why does he have to keep his mouth shut? He just has to hit the baseball. Everything else is for the birds.
Until he becomes a capable defender, no one has to “admit” it. Even saying passable is a stretch.
Steve
Muted (troll. Can’t get attention for posting anything intelligent, so just posts the stupidest crap for attention)
I’ve never heard of Anderson being a bad teammate. I feel like there is a lot of projecting going on in these comments for some reason. Anderson actually was fiercely loyal to his team.
Uh…TA was the catalyst for that club⚾️house negativity on the
…WhiteSox ; that’s why ‘he gone’ !
I agree but add to this the White Sox players were and are lazy
Should have signed with Cleveland to play beside his buddy Jose
Was dreaming of a scenario where Anderson and Donaldson both ended up on Cleveland with Jose.
MLB The Show 24 comes out on March 19th
shucks, too bad the game doesn’t have boxing capabilities..
Low risk high reward move for the fish. It’s not like they had anyone else to play short.
Your definition of high & low must vary greatly from mine. Ahahaha!
Well I have 4 likes and you don’t so I’d say the public is more on my side! Ahahahahaha
Got eeem.
You were saying? Ahahahhaha!
Let’s come back to this in 6 months lol.
Wrong again Batman. Ahahaha!
It’s more likely 5 million down the drain. He was literally the worst offensive player in the league last year! Sometimes when you lose it, you can’t get it back!
You sound as though you speak from personal experience.
“Personal experience”…If the most liked, easiest going guy in MLB(JRam) decided you needed punching I’m more than willing to believe you needed punching.
Yeah but it cant be both can it? Either a coach is worth something are they arent. Unless its an injury or age is catching up I would think a coach can unlock something in him.
Mb
“Sometimes when you lose it, you can’t get it back!”
And sometimes you can
So, in your no-doubt expert and informed opinion, what makes it more likely that he can’t?
Tim Anderson can’t play short either. Not competently.
$5 mil sounds cheap, feels cheap for that resume. Plus didn’t get him via a trade so no loss of player personnel. I say low risk regardless of level of reward based on performance.
That’s a joke right?
Well as far as I know, And I’ve only lived in Chicago all my life and through Anderson’s whole career, All his issues were ON THE FIELD. I have never heard of him having any issues OFF the field. So you being and expert on him maybe you can enlighten those of us who know better. Should be amusing. Bauer is where he belongs: Asia. And that’s really not far enough away. He’s a POS.
Yeah, Tim Anderson tweeting he’s today’s Jackie Robinson is a much more heinous crime than beating women to a pulp. I can see your point. What was I thinking? Holy Crap.
Bauer is jobless as far as I know. He is not in spring training in Japan with the Bay Stars. At least I can’t find anything showing that he is there now and their spring training started February 1st.
Watching Anderson play short for years and my thought has and still maybe he could be a good 2nd baseman or even better in center I think last year was a just a terrible combo of bad season and complacent attitude. I think Miami might catch lightning in Ta or he will crash … We will all know soon enough
Judging from last year they still dont.
The stove is burning folks!
First correct free agent I got since Gurriel!
Nice! I predicted this one on the MLBTR Free Agent Prediction Contest.
I’m surprised that I predicted 3 in total. Was expecting zero.
He is my 5th correct. Still not great but ok.
Old York,
Same here, one of the few I predicted correctly lol
I didn’t even want to check because I knew I was doing poorly, but you made me think maybe I wasn’t the only one. Sadly, still stuck on 4 here. What an abysmal showing.
Only correct ones so far are Ohtani, Flaherty, Hoskins, and Heyward. Considering Ohtani and Heyward were almost guarantees that means I have really only gotten two tough ones correct. Sheesh.
UGA_Steve
Don’t feel bad, I’m one of the few that didn’t get Ohtani correct. I know such an easy one…
Heyward was far from a lock to the Dodgers. As a dodgers fan, I actually had him going to the braves to play left.
I didn’t even think of Atlanta, but makes sense, they did need another outfielder. I had Heyward returning to the Dodgers all the way since they rebooted his godawful bat and he would want to stay with the same organization that revived his career.
The Hoskins one was a good guess.
Hoskins was a Brewers ‘player type’ fit in my mind. Only reason I chose them.
I guess I just felt like the Dodgers openly liked Heyward enough that it was going to happen. I felt very confident on it, but I should not have called it an almost ‘guarantee’. My bad guys. Bottom line for me .. I should only enter free contests on free agent signings, otherwise I am just throwing my own money away.
It is beginning to sound like 5 might be in the running Guardian Indian. EDIT – Just saw they had a leaderboard and there are some very astute folks around here. 10 is first right now. Wow.
Leaderboard shows me as having 5. Trying to figure out how I only came up with four, but my list only shows 4. Maybe they gave me a freebie out of sympathy.
EDIT – And another edit because I realized I could drill into my name and see. Liam Hendriks .. hooray for me.
Well I was expecting at least 3 and I got zero. I didn’t even get the one free space Ohtani one because I wanted to be a contrarian and picked the Giants.
@Buzzz Killington
Yeah, I was stupid and thought he would sign with the M’s.
I was being a total homer & full of overexuberant hopium and put Ohtani for Mariners as well haha. I only have three right in Nola, Gray, and Mahle. Actually I think we should protest this one guys because we didn’t know about the RSN contracts going haywire before making our choices. If I had known about the cable deals I wouldn’t have picked the Rangers and Mariners for so many dang players!!! Boycott! Boycott! Boycott!!!
Finally
Marlins filled their offseason voids.
SS better than Wendle – check
C better than Stallings – check
Add RHP relievers to compete for roles to compliment the LHP relievers – check
Bonus – trading Okert and actually getting something better than a low-level prospect.
Don’t place money on him for fights.
@nando390 trying to fight Ramirez was brave, but wasn’t wise. He’s built like a tank.
Wasn’t brave was just stupid. Anderson is a meathead.
“Anderson is a meat head”…Word on the street is the Fish are considering bringing in legendary trainer Freddy Roach, Eddie Futch or Cus D’Amato to work with Anderson. If he can learn to move left while also protecting his jaw he could definitely surprise some people. You never want to lead with your right hand.
Is that who Rocky trained with before he had to fight the Russian?
All this talk makes me wonder what was the greatest MLB KO or TKO?
Tim Anderson by Ramirez
Nyjer Morgan by Gaby Sanchez
Jose Bautista by Rougned Odor
Robin Ventura by Nolan Ryan
???
I would say Odor if I get a vote, it was clean and knocked Bautista’s shades clean off his head.
Anderson however had absolutely no fighting skills, I had to watch the fight recently and he didn’t even square up properly. On top of all that he has a glass chin because Ramirez didn’t land cleanly.
So the Giants will go to war with Luciano, Schmitt or Walton at short. If Luciano does not cut it, the plan is two guys that make Mario Mendoza look like Ty Cobb. I predict Anderson will have a nice bounce back season now that he is away from the toxic Sox environment.
Luciano has 200+ minor league games at shortstop, he has proven to be league average at short which is worth a lot. Schmitt’s defense is a step above Anderson. Why wouldn’t you want to see what the rookies can do? Anderson has shown to be a punk and toxic individual.
Tyler Fitzgerald is a Short Stop by trade and could factor into the picture as well. The Giants also recently acquired Otto Lopez from the Blue Jays. While not necessarily what fans were hoping for it’s not like there were any great options available in free agency anyway
How is it Rsox knows more about the SFG roster than True Giants Fan ?
Great Knowledge !
Ya, Walton….. ??
Anderson was likely the one causing or at least greatly contributing to all that toxicity.
Anderson takes a toxic environment along with him wherever he goes.
He has experienced terrible organization management in Chicago. Let’s see if he catches a break in Miami.
Someone might break his nose or jaw.
Or another fist with his jaw.
Solid bounce back candidate. Between the WBC and injury he might’ve just not been himself last season.
Good luck Jackie.
You dont have to be racist. It’s really not very hard
This man literally said “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson”.
By definition, racism is the belief that a race is superior or inferior to another.
By me calling another person by a nickname they themselves call themselves which is not a racial epithet how does that indicate that I believe his race to be either superior or inferior or my own race (which you likely assumed as white or at minimum non-black) is superior or inferior to his?
Save your reply, you’ve already lost.
Mach
Muted (donkey butt)
Would rather have prime Chipper Jones
Um, who wouldn’t?
Or were you throwing salt on some old, early Marlins wounds with that reference to the trade that the Marlins didn’t make when the Braves already agreed to send Ron Gant, 1 of Chipper Jones or Ryan Klesko, Mark Wohlers and 1 of Steve Avery or Kent Mercker for Bryan Harvey? The deal fell apart when the Marlins insisted on having both Chipper and Klesko instead of just Chipper who they wanted.
He’s like the homeless man’s Luis Arraez. Will be cool to see those two in a lineup together
Anderson was outstanding as recent as a year ago. It’s only this past season that has muddied his value.
But I do agree that it will be cool to see them in the 1-2 slots.
Your definition of outstanding is 1.7 WAR? Like, not quite good enough to be a starter = outstanding.
2.5 WAR from your starting position players is what you want for a playoff caliber team. 2.0 WAR is fine. It’s “acceptable” and anything less than that is dragging team performance.
Tim Anderson
2023 = avg (1.5) WAR based on (0.5) fWAR or (2.0) bWAR
2022 = avg 1.7 WAR based on 2.0 fWAR or 1.3 bWAR
But yeah, he was good 3 seasons ago, back in 2021. Of course even that came with red flags like a .372 BABIP despite poor line drive rates and hard hit rates contributing to his actual wOBA being inflated by 20pts over expected.
His WAR has always lagged due to defense. When I said “outstanding” I was referring to his offense.
So wRC+ 110 is “outstanding” Got it.
He only played 79 games, but assuming his 110 wRC+ held over the whole 2022 season (if healthy), he would’ve been the 8th best offensive SS that year. Top 10 at your position in a given year is outstanding in my book.
In 2021 he was 8th. He was 4th among all SS in 2020 and 2019. So I think he has a recent track record of being outstanding.
“He only played 79 games”..Nice spin job. You even spun his extensive injury history into a positive. Have you ever considered a long-term career in media or as a lawyer?
@mlb fan
That’s not spin. I’m stating what happened and explaining how that works in my projection. That’s why I said “only” because it’s obviously not a lot of games.
I wasn’t spinning his injury history as a positive either. That’s a separate discussion from whether he was a good player or not. Good players can still have a poor health record. Did Mike Trout suddenly stop being a great hitter because he’s had poor health? Of course not. He’s a great player who gets hurt too much. Tim Anderson has been a good SS (offensively) who tends to get hurt too much.
“Have you ever considered a long-term career in media or as a lawyer?” What’s the point of this sentence? Did my post make you mad or something?
The Boras Agency may be hiring.
mart
“2022 = avg 1.7 WAR based on 2.0 fWAR or 1.3 bWAR”
Not smart enough or not honest enough to account for the numbeR of PA’s
I’d much rather have a 1.7 WAR player in 350 PA than a 2 WAR one in 600.
If you need to to explain why, I’ll be happy to
This seems as clear of a “Change of Scenery” bounceback candidate as there has been in a while. The South Side was miserable last year. Anderson was miserable and he wasn’t healthy.
I don’t think he’s gonna turn in 8-12 defensive runs saved again, let alone contend for a batting title. But if he’s healthy again and in a better environment, I could see him hitting .290/.330/.395 with average-ish SS defense, and that would be a clear win for the fish at this price.
That’s exactly what they need from the SS position. Allows Berti to roam around now too.
Going to Miami is going to teach Anderson how to get fast and hit line drives?
Before last year, when was the last season when he couldn’t hit?
Results-wise or expected results wise? Anderson’s always been a ground ball guy with pretty limited pop and lousy walk rates.
There’s a hard cap on how productive a guy like that can be over a large sample size. He’s kind of a poor man’s Luis Arraez because his Anderson’s line drive rate isn’t elite, and Anderson’s slap infield grounder rate is just so awful. Instead of medium contact looping line drives that drop for hits like Arraez, Tim Anderson just has slap grounders that are prone to roll into to the SS or 2B’s glove.
Honestly, Nick Gordon and Tim Anderson aren’t a whole lot different in profile except Gordon makes harder contact and puts more balls into the air.
Being a perennial .300 hitter (which he was prior to last year) has value. That’s my point. I know he isn’t the perfect hitter and has flaws. At his best he’s a .300 hitter with good hit totals, solid pop (15 home runs per year is solid imo), and solid base stealing numbers (around 15 per year is solid imo).
What I’m pointing out is the metrics, and the eye test, say Anderson got pretty lucky with his batting average. He was, but shouldn’t have been, a .300 hitter most years. Above that, Anderson doesn’t take walks so his OBP was never elite and he doesn’t have much power.
He’s pretty much literally early career Delmon Young, only at SS, complete with the attitude problems. While that “has value” it’s not a lot of value.
Like Young, as soon as Anderson’s defense slipped, he lost a step and the luck started to turn around, Anderson’s real performance plummeted. It’s not like I can guarantee Anderson will have another unplayably bad season, but the number of seasons a person should expect Anderson to be an everyday starter are probably limited without some massive adjustments.
Fair enough. But I would say hitting .300+ for a season can be chalked up to luck. 4 out of 5 seasons can not be easily explained away with luck though. At some point we have to admit he clearly has skill as a hitter.
You and I clearly evaluate him differently. It is what it is.
You both make interesting points, and I too am a guy that says multiple seasons at .300 makes you a good hitter. But let’s also consider that Anderson is entering Marlins Park where ‘Small Ball’ type of players can excel. Anderson looks like a good fit for the park. And the fact that all the Marlins are asking him to be is better than 2023 Joey Wendle both offensively and defensively will make things easier on him than when he was expeted to be one of the core guys in Chicago.
DOWN GOES ANDERSON. Was I the first to post that?
Nope. And it wasn’t funny the first time, either
Awww white Sox fan?
92j
Muted (donkey butt with a heaping side of troll)
Hopefully he’s a little more humble now. Could be the best 5M spent this offseason, or 5M wasted.
We shall see.
Guys a cancer and Is Fried waste of money
Their response to the Rays signing Rosario
Actually, as I posted when the Rosario thing happened, I wondered if Rosario signing there was a sign that he knew something was about to go down in Miami which meant Rosario was out of the mix. It seems so.
“While his offensive profile has never been driven primarily by power…”
I’d rather have a guy with a .400 OBP and .300 BA and zero homeruns. He has the marks of the perfect lead off hitter.
So you would rather have a different player than Anderson. He has never had a .400 OBP. His career OBP is .312
Yeah, but my point is I’d rather have OBP over HRs. In general, HRs seem to be what matters when people talk about the quality of hitters lately. Small ball has gone away, which is too bad because that’s what wins games consistently.
Tim got more than double what the Rays gave Rosario, and he was very much comparable to him.
As a White Sox fan I wish him the best of luck. I have a feeling that he’s going to have a pretty good season for the Marlins.
Anderson had a putrid offensive season, Rosario had a putrid defensive season and subpar offensive season. Anderson has a stronger track record but Rosario is a couple years younger. It was reported that Rosario is going to be a utility player, while Anderson is still a capable shortstop. We’ll see who fares better this season, but I would agree that Rosario felt like he was going to get closer to 4-5 million like Anderson
TA has never been a capable SS, and at this point in his career is unlikely to improve. He was a solid hitter. He will play SS because he is going to a team with lesser options than him. That by no means makes him better at playing SS.
Should be a low pressure situation for him, given the 10 Marlins fans that show up to watch a game. Wait, I meant to say 11, if the Cinnamon Toast Crunch mascot shows up for the game.
Enough of the constant shots at the Marlins not having enough fans at their games..It’s a LAZY old take to characterize what they are as an organization.. If they commit to a continuous, desired effort to compete and win, the fans will show up.. That stadium has filled up numerous times this past year with hardcore baseball fans from all over Miami watching competitive baseball..If the Marlins organization can show a true commitment to a winning environment from top to bottom, the fans will come…Now the team you need to worry about is the Tampa Bay Rays who do everything right and win and still can’t draw fans..
@Old York
Got news for you, Bro. The Marlins have tons of fans across Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties – in fact, throughout the entire state – who for years have been saying, “Just do us proud. Give us a reason to come to the ballpark and we will.” That’s it. Make an effort to build a sustainable winner, and you’ll see a huge difference in attendance. Anyone living in South Florida already knows this. You don’t need to spend crazy $$. Build a strong organization, draft and develop serious talent, put a competitive team on the field every year, and the fans will come. Was ever thus.
Which Florida team do people in Jacksonville root for?? Just curious, from the exact opposite end of the country.
A lot of Marlins fans up there. Jacksonville is the home of our AAA minor league affiliate.
Let’s let buffoons like @Old York keep throwing those old, lame E!SPN attandance jokes. They all used to do the same thing with the Miami Heat prior to Micky Arison taking majority ownership of the team when he first took over. Then those New York people, E!SPN, etc. weren’t laughing after Pat Riley faxed in his resignation to lead the Heat, and those same people have not been laughing since.
Hopefully the Marlins get this thing built and have their own Marlins Culture soon here in the 305.
They started full squad workouts two days ago. No way he catches up
Down south goes Anderson!
He’s ready to Square up on someone!
Well it’s a good opportunity for him. He had gotten a big head and maybe starting over will do him some good.
Anderson’s clubhouse reputation was off-putting enough when he was still a productive player that I felt, even then, like he was a bad guy to have around. But why in the world any team is willing to pay him 5 million after the stats he put up last year is a mystery to me. A classic Marlins head-scratcher.
Productive player? Not last year!!
They’re paying for the .300 version of 19,20,21,22. One down year out of five. He’s worth the 5 million.
BS – he looked like crap last year and he had no excuses. If he looks like that again this year, no one will feel sorry for the marlins. -2 war, worst player in the league. You buy it, you own it.
Sounds like you have something personal against him. Good luck with that.
@moneyballer maybe Ramirez woke up his bat, and knocked out some cob webs in his head.
A clubhouse cancer on a non-contending team is unlikely to result in anything good. Best case scenario, you might be able to flip him at the deadline if he gets his form back.
@croc
There are
professional baseball evaluators who get paid handsomely and then there is you and I who comment their opinions on a website. I’m sure they’ve done their due dilligence and who knows, maybe they have stipulations in his contract. I think he’ll produce and the Marlins will get more than their moneys worth.
TBF, I’m not convinced Miami’s evaluation department knows anything about anything, haha. But you’re right, we’re only humble armchair commentators. Just sharing my opinion; I’d never pretend it amounts to expertise.
Nope. Where was the line when there was no cost to his acquisition?
Seems steep. Off-field issues seem to have been significant & likely contributed to his rapid on-field decline recently. Maybe change of scenery helps?
5 million seems like a lot for a -2.0 war player! He literally cost the white sox wins by playing him. Way to sabotage your team, marlins!
Tim Anderson was far from being the sole reason for their terrible 2023 season. I’m not defending the guy, but it was a combination of many factors as to why the White Sox cratered last year.
Exactly, even if he did well, they still would’ve been a very bad baseball team.
Once Anderson backed off his demands for a statue, he got a contract.
This is a cool move for the Marlins. They get a SS with all star pedigree on the cheap at a position where they basically have no answers.
As I said before, this lineup is all vibes now:
1. Anderson
2. Arraez
3. Jazz
4. Burger
5. Bell
6. Sanchez
7. De La Cruz
8. Garcia
9. Fortes
They aren’t better than Atlanta or Philly obviously, but that lineup is potentially good enough to snag a wild card slot. It’s not clear that the Mets have a better team than Miami this year either.
They would be NUTS to have Anderson as their leadoff hitter. Arraez has that on lockdown!
You must think anderson isn’t total trash these days. He’ll be lucky to bat last in that lineup. He’ll be on a short leash too. Might want to check out his statline from last season. He was healthy too, that’s the bad part! It’s not like he was playing with a broken arm although he put up the stats of someone who was.
You’re right, I do not think he is total trash. I think he had a bad year in a bad environment. Maybe he will bounce back, maybe he won’t. I think he will. I’m not even particularly a fan of his either, just giving my two cents.
I don’t think Anderson bats leadoff. I think he bats second to start the season, then things sort themselves out from there.
But as a whole, while not a top-heavy lineup or as good as Atlanta or Philly, it is a tough lineup to get through.
Also of note, while everyone is looking at Tim Anderson and giving their thoughts, once the Marlins step on the field tomorrow, it’s officially the start of the Avi Garcia DFA Watch.
Getting a semi-productive Garcia or getting out from under his contract entirely will be huge for them.
The problem is Jazz staying healthy over a full season. I love the talent but you have to bet against him reaching 100 games.
Agree. If Burger is legit and TA bounces back, they should be able to cover Jazz’s absences. Honestly, he plays so little that any game’s where he is available have to be considered a bonus.
With that infield, just put the ball in play! Good things will happen.
3 of the 4 guys were there last year, and the guy at SS was Joey Wendle. It seems putting the ball in play didn’t work out so well for opposing teams.
Marlins are not going anywhere if they start Anderson over Berti at SS. Bert is the superior defender.
Um, I guess you don’t realize who was at SS last year for us. It was some guy named Joey Wendle. I think it’s safe to say we’re not downgrading our defense by going from Joey Wendle to Tim Anderson.
Nice try though.
Take a look at their defensive stats last year and educate yourself first.
Wendle: 6 Rdrs
TA: -14 Rdrs
I don’t go by defensive stats. Even their creators state that they are a work in progress that are to be taken with a grain of salt until they align them to be truly reliable. It says a lot about them when their creators say that themselves.
I watched Wendle everyday as a Marlins fan, and can confidently say it will be very hard for anyone to be worse than him with the overall play at SS. Anything that wasn’t hit directly to Wendle exposed that he’s better suited at 2B or 3B. I’ll wait to see where Anderson is right now at this point in his career. We have an upgrade.
And if you still don’t accept it, the fact is that the Marlins feel they have upgraded from Wendle with Anderson. Also, if it makes you feel more comfortable, if Berti doesn’t back him up defensively in games, we also have Amaya, who I get the feel will make the roster if he shows he can hit at the MLB level. We know he can field…no matter what defensive metrics say.
As for Berti, I agree he’s better defensively, but we maximize his use for our team keeping him as our Utility guy instead of locking him into one position.
Sounds good, agreed
Berti had 2.4 WAR last season with half his games at SS. 2.5 WAR in 2022.
Anderson had a -2.0 WAR last season with 119 of 121 games at SS. 1.3 WAR in 2022.
Berti was a better option.
But our SS last year was Joey Wendle. He was garbage for us last year. Tim Anderson is an upgrade all the way through.
Would be really awesome to see Jazz totally break out this season and be healthy for the whole stretch. His ceiling is somewhere between Julio & Corbin Carroll wouldn’t you say??
I, based on a quick perusal, would probably go
Arraez (best hitter, best OBP)
Bell (one of the better hitters, good OBP)
Jazz (good hitter, good power)
Burger (best power hitter)
Sanchez (best hitter left)
De la Cruz (best hitter left)
Garcia (more power than Fortes)
Anderson (show he’s not the worst hitter)
Fortes (better than Anderson? On base more for top of order)
For me
Arraez is a perfect like #6 hitter depending on the rest of your team
I’d like my top 4 to be better hitters overall than he is.
My 5 hitter to have more power
He slots in 6 to get a ton of singles with, ideally, a ton of guys on base and in scoring position
Good signing. Low risk on a one-year deal and high upside. It’s unlikely he simply aged out at 29, so a bounce back seems quite likely.
Head cases rarely “bounce back”….
His legs have failed him the last year and a half and he wasn’t the same guy without his athleticism.
Hopefully he’s been able to work on that over this last off-season and rebound.
Good gamble by the Marlins. If they have someone on staff that can teach him how to fight, Anderson can thrive in Miami.
Nice add
He has to be better than he was last year.
@marlinsfanbase will be pleased
Yep.
Did you really get banned?
Yep. It looks like I was banned for making some comments in a comedic way that were probably innapropriately worded innuendo as a way to make a point about Mike Axisa’s bias in reporting in how he covers his beloved Yankees versus how he covers all of the other 29 teams.
Wow, that seems like a stupid thing to ban someone for. It’s not like you were spreading hate or anything lol
If I was spreading hate or being a misogynist I would’ve been ok. But don’t dare make inappropriate jokes that mocks a fellow “journalist’s” inbalanced reporting.
It’s a good move for them. Frees up Berti to super utility.
Berti is the superior defender and should start over TA at SS.
Takes away from using Berti to his full potential.
How does one get labeled Utility? They’re not paying TA enough to guarantee him playing time. If Berti has the better spring, he should win the job!
Berti will still play every day. UT doesn’t mean he’s benched, but absolutely you play the guy that only plays SS at SS and move around the guy equipped to play all over. That’s called having versatility and good baseball management.
Exactly. Berti is most valuable to the Marlins in his Utility role. He allows the Marlins to matchup with various types of team strategies and approaches to various types of pitchers. Placing him in one role with the Marlins has not worked well when they’ve tried – not for the team and not for him.
Fairly anticlimactic as I’d bet 95% of people here had this in the free agent predictions contest.
I had him going to the Giants to replace Crawford. I don’t think that was a completely asinine take ?
I mean, this is a good signing by them. Low risk high upside if you ask me. Cost is next to nothing in baseball money. Crazy how a former all star/batting champ could tank like he did
Yeah but they will still need to send the hat around the clubhouse for donations … guys will have to wash cars for a fundraiser on off-days.
What did MLBTR predict he would get in FA? Usually it’s listed in the article.
I believe they predicted 12m. Another commentor was going on, and on, and on about how there was no way Anderson would get less than that in a different comment section.
We probably won’t be seeing him here. Lol
He will just switch to one of his alt-accounts and say he was right the entire time.
Hahahahah I knew Jackie wasn’t going to get any offers form a contender… he’s now where he belongs- on the marlins. Hahahahhaha
Such a nice person you are, especially to the Marlins fanbase.
Um, did I miss something in 2023? I watched the Marlins ever since Day 1 of their inaugural season. I watched them all last year. I could have sworn that I saw them make the Playoffs last year. Did @178iq see something different than I did?
Hope Jackie keeps his hand up next time.
Low risk, high reward for the guy that kept DJ LeMahieu from making history in 2019. Instead, DJ won the crown in 2020* meaning no player has ever won a full-season batting title in both leagues.
T.A is a fine example of elite talent with a .10 head on his shoulders. The history of head cases bouncing back is not good.
@Mickey Solis
Not true. Luis Arraez did it, batting .316 for the Twins in 2022 and .354 for the Marlins in 2023. You can look it up.
LOL @Mickey Solis
Clearly he watches baseball with “facts” like his.
Good signing. I hope he can rebound in south Florida.
I concur. Low risk, high reward, inexpensive – and the positive vibes, unity, and fighting spirit of the Marlins clubhouse should re-energize TA, especially in comparison with the dysfunctional, imploding 2023 White Sox. In lieu of going with one of our internal options (Edwards, Brujan, Amaya or Jonah Bride), this is an excellent, high-percentage move. TA deserved a second chance. Now it’s up to him.
That’s good, TA has plenty of fighting spirit, but not much fight actually in him.
All he has to do is hit with the bat, not with his hands. As long as he has a bat of stone, he can have hands of pillows for all I care.
No amount of hitting can make up for the runs he’ll give up with his defense.
Anderson is the hotdog th Arraez’ mustard…
That is about a 4 million overpay on Jackie.
It’s an overpay of over $5 million.
Given terms of all deals.
Rosario>>Anderson>>>IKF
As a White Sox fan, it will be strange to see Tim Anderson and Jake Burger occupying the left side of the Marlins infield in 2024. I can also envision a rebound from TA7 and see him and Miami 2B Luis Arráez vying for the NL batting title. ⚾️
Love it!
Maybe they have a boxing coach on staff.
I love how Tim Anderson has an “attitude” is getting thrown around.
Yeah he has an attitude for getting mad at Grandal for quitting on his team.
He has an attitude for getting in a fight with Ramirez.
He has an attitude for trying to pump up his team with a bat flip.
He had an attitude for defending Tony LaRussa?
Is Ramirez a bad teammate? Does he have an attitude? How about Harper, bad teammate? Arenado? Everyone in “Red Sox nation” loved them some Joe Kelly fight club didn’t they?
It’s a joke that Tim Anderson is some kind of clubhouse cancer/bad teammate/has a bad attitude… wonder why he has that reputation… probably the same reason Jazz is considered a showboat/selfish player
That’s $2.5M for every win below replacement if you’re scoring at home…
Imagine someone telling you last offseason Tim anderson would sign for 5 million
I will be taking a flier on him in every fantasy league I can. Well worth a late round pick with the upside he possesses.
Before last year, the last time he hit UNDER .300 on the season was 2018. The decline was ugly last year, but I learned a long time ago you can’t totally give up on a guy because of a bad year.
The biggest takeaway from this read for me, is that Bobby Witt Jr. is not a very good fielding SS. Knew he was below average, but didn’t realize he was towards the bottom of DRS and other metrics. Think Tim Anderson will bounce back to an extent, apparently he was dealing with some personal issues last year.
Excellent signing for the fish. Anderson has something to prove, he isn’t that far from an All-Star level. Nice move for Miami, I hope he stays there.
Honestly give me this guy over IKF
Rosario is better and cheaper than both as a 2B/utility guy, issue is Ross wants 162 games at 3B from IKF.
Why?
IKF has won a gold glove at 3b and the Jays are not spending to bring back Chappy so I imagine that’s why.
Tim Anderson’s trend goes back quite a ways. He had some great luck from 2019-2021, but his 2022 campaign was probably about what a person could expect for a rebound. In 2022, Anderson was more or less, playable at SS. That’s probably the ceiling for him.
That said, if he can bounce back to a 1.5-2.0 WAR shortstop for a year, and he’s been humbled by the market enough to fix the attitude so he doesn’t cause more problems, the Marlins will have a good deal and Anderson will have a chance to extend his career.
That said, I’m not holding my breath.
This clown compared himself to Jackie Robinson. He isn’t even in the same universe as Robinson. Anderson is a total clown
Perspective is needed here:
“I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson,” Anderson said in the interview, referencing his desire to break the “have-fun barrier” in baseball. “That’s huge to say. But it’s cool, man, because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.”
Tim Anderson said this back in 2019 (reiterated it again in 2022) when he was the only African-American on the White Sox roster and only one of 72 black players in a game that, percentage-wise, was more than twice as black as recently as 1994. It was also a statement originally in response to his famous bat toss after a towering home run against the Royals, of all teams.
ASF
You can’t expect MLTBR commenters to have any kind of nuance
MLBTR has selected their audience and they are fine with… What you see here.
Maybe try FanGraphs if you want people to, on average, can think beyond “he sucks/is awesome”.
Right. Anderson was mad at being suspended a few games for screaming “you weak f’ing n_____” to a pitcher who threw behind him after Anderson pimped a home run. So Anderson compared that horribly difficult plight to Jackie Robinson fighting against Jim Crow laws and having garbage thrown at him. A link to the original article.
si.com/mlb/2019/04/30/tim-anderson-white-sox-speak…
It makes sense Tim Anderson wouldn’t have a lot of “African American” cultural subset team mates. Probably doesn’t have a lot of Muslim team mates or Indian or Asian team mates, either. African Americans favor football over basketball over soccer over baseball. It’s not a big interest in the culture. That doesn’t make it some sort of travesty.
♫Jackie
Mmm, hey, what you doing now?
It seems like yesterday
When we were workin’ out
Jackie
Whoa, you set the world on fire
You came and gifted us
Your love it lifted us higher and higher…….♪♫♪
or not
Not very impressed with Peter Bendix so far; Nick Ahmed was right there. Instead you sign a low character guy who will hurt the team the glove and attitude.
I could think of better ways to waste 5m dollars. Just saying…
AO
Thanks for your input, troll
Would you look at that, Tim Anderson’s agent has entered the comments section.
AO
Muted (troll. Can’t get attention for posting anything intelligent so just posts insults)
Pathetic filihok is pathetic.
I’ll take Rosario at $1.5 million.
At least his offense should pick up now that he’s getting out of the tough AL Central. /s
LOL. Good one…about the “tough AL Central”.
I hate Josh Donaldson, so I understood TA taking issue with the condescending dirt nugget. But the Ramirez scuffle was 100% on TA and turned me against him for good. $5MM is piddling… hope this brings his ego and attitude down to earth a little. Tired of those “he’s a bonafide star” MLB TV commercials with him, too. This makes the Fish less likeable. Letting Soler walk, shafting Arraez in arb, and now putting this guy in a Miami uniform… yikes
Kim may very well be the best FA SS in next year’s crop.
It would have been nice to see Miami give Edwards a stretch look instead, but Anderson is a better fit for the window. It’s a solid get for both clubs.
Jon Berti has more game than this lame loudmouth. I would expect the sam output as last year or worse.
Can’t lose too bad at 5m. As a weak platoon it’s a fine contract. As a #1 SS on a rebuilding team its a fine contract. As a 2b where he could be a plus defender I like it. For a team that should be thinking playoffs I don’t know. Looks like negative player as a full time ss. Maybe they have the improvement answers though.
Haven’t seen ya around in awhile! Always enjoy your comments.
Appreciate your kind words. Has it been slow lately? I mainly just show up for trades especially and major major league free agent signings. The predictions, deaths, injuries don’t get much attention from me. I will check in a few times a day see if the Boras guys sign. Won’t be real active until trade deadline nears. Then back to hibernation until November. Mvp cy young hall of fame don’t get much of my attention. I try to check my notifications though so hit me up anytime. If I don’t reply in a day or 2 try again because I didn’t see it.
You’re trying so hard to be funny and yet you’re just embarrassing yourself *facepalm*
Wow. Can’t believe Marlins missed out signing Urshela fir 1.5 and paid 5 fir Anderson. I would take Urshela 100% over Anderson. Better option because of versatility, can play 3rd, 1st and a bit shortstop and for 1.5. Tigers git a way better deal and at this stage a better hitter with some pop and overall
player because of his versatility. Very disappointed on Bendix on this one.
A bit of SS. They may be looking for a full time SS. If not I would prefer Urshela as well. Or get both if need be.
Alright! 3-for-42 in free agent predictions! Here comes the express!
When do the Marlins play the Tigers? If Anderson played just against them he’d be a HOF’er.
Miami will be a good spot to find more “influencers”
I noticed there’s not too many in Paducah, Kentucky
Joining my man Jake. I ordered a Marlins hat today. 52 and a life long White Sox fan but they’re a train wreck and there’s simply nothing to be optimistic about.
Well-the defense should be respectable on the Southside among the regulars except 1B (Vaughn).
A lot of people commenting here not realizing their lives are TA’s 2023 – below replacement level.
Report on Marlins page says Jake Burger is looking forward to welcoming his friend and ex-teammate to the Marlins..
I don’t know much about the details of Anderson’s comments, but it seems to me he is an African American who has noticed representation has gone down drastically over the last 30 years. Maybe he is just a guy who chose a very unfortunate way of pointing that out?
He will be joining a pretty diverse bunch of Americans in the Miami clubhouse. A good place for a fresh start
Omg!! A commenter actually giving somebody the benefit of the doubt & not taking what was said in the worst possible light !! What a concept in 2024 !!! You sir earn a +1 for the day.
I met his high school baseball coach in Orange beach Alabama about seven weeks ago. He told me what a nice guy TA is. Apparently they have stayed in touch. Have to believe someone that has known him for over 15 years.
I doubt TA’s wife is happy, but Im sure his baby mama influencer is happy he is closer…Miami is the worse place for a guy who cheated on his wife to be playing at.
Its clear he has some psychological issues, and I hope he gets some help, which may also help his abilities on the field.
I guess we will see how long it takes him to hit the DL with a pulled groin or hamstring issue.
The Marlins used to pay $5M to MiggyRo for his glove… why not for a strong bounce back candidate?
If he can get just close to his average numbers, say, .270/.310/.410 with 8+ HRs and 15+ SBs, I think that was a good (not great) deal.
That said, Berti should play often.
I think this is a great move for the Marlins, especially if he bounces back
@filihok Low-class comment bro…
After leading all of baseball in batting average over a four-year stretch, Anderson has one disastrous season and people give up on him. Because MLB players never fall apart and then pull themselves back together? (Ahem, Cody Bellinger.)
Anderson is about as obvious a bounce-back candidate as there is. He and Arraez might not patrol the middle infield like a couple of Ozzie Smiths, but they should make for one of the toughest top of the lineups in the league.
youtu.be/m5nbBNOqNuE?si=9z6RWNQI3UDQYIPp
Five mil for the Jackie Robinson of our time is a great deal.
How he got five million after the season he had is beyond me when Urshela and Rosario each got 1.5 million. I guess he gets more for his past performance and the hope he isn’t completely washed. I hope for Bendix sake he does bounce back..otherwise signing Nick Ahmed would have been a helluva lot cheaper.
Hope his D is better in Miami than in Chicago.
My contempt for Anderson relates to 2 things:
1) Anderson had the GALL to compare himself to the Great Jackie Robinson, the 1st Black player in MLB & the NL, who endured more abuse than any baseball player in history, with the possible exception of the Great Larry Dolby, the 1st Black player in the AL.
Anderson had the nerve to tell Sports Illustrated: “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson. . . .That’s huge to say. But it’s cool, man, because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.” Oh, Shut Up, You Moron!
There will NEVER be another Jackie Robinson in baseball or life. Robinson was, metaphorically, the Christ of American sports.
They’ll NEVER be another Jackie Robinson or Larry Dolby, for that matter. And No Man or Women should ever have the Arrogance to compare themselves to either of those LEGENDS, in Any Respect.
Those two heroes endured more physical & mental abuse & threats than any athletes in American history. And, by the way, I’m WHITE.
2) Anderson admitted that he used The N-word when he cursed at Royals pitcher Brad Keller, who hit him in the buttock with what looked like a weak breaking pitch in a video replay of the incident, which is available on the internet.
“I called him a weak-ass f—— n—–,” Anderson told SI. “That’s what I said.”
Oddly the pitcher he called a “f***ing n****r” apparently isn’t even black, making Anderson’s use of that despicable racial slur very bizarre.
Anyway, nitwit Anderson defended his use of the N-word in his Sports Illustrated interview, claiming “That’s a word that’s in my vocabulary.”
I’m 50% Italian; my dad was 100%. The word “dago” was the equivalent of the N-word to Italian immigrants, and no Italian would ever use that word, other than in joking with a Very Good Italian buddy.
So, why would Anderson call someone — of any race — such a Disgusting & Denigrating word? Is he mentally ill or just a crass pig?
The above are the two reasons I hope Tim Anderson hits his IQ with the Marlins in 2024, which would translate into a BA of about .074.
Only small-minded idiots, like Anderson, incorporate ethnic & racial slurs “in (their) vocabulary,” as Anderson says he does.
If you say or think such things about any race or ethnic group, you’re an idiot, because No ethnic or racial group is predominantly Good or Bad.
We’re all Quite Equal in that regard, mostly good, but some bad, and that’s why the Only Logical Way to judge people is the way MLK recommended: on the Content of Their Character.
If that’s not your criteria, what the h*ll is wrong with you?!
Tim Anderson’s off the field issues in Chicago is the reason why he is no longer on the White Sox. Anderson was suppose to be the face of the White Sox but his martial issues with getting another woman pregnant brought drama into the club house when he was asking for an extension and his on the field play did not help his cause. Anderson’s days in Chicago were doomed in 2022 when the news came out he was fathering another child with a woman that was not his wife. It was slap in the face to Anderson and his wife since they were posing as a happy family and doing charity work. Anderson was worried getting paid and not performing.
Last time Tim Anderson and Avisail Garcia were team mates, Avi was an all-star. Bendix playing 3D chess. Unlock Avi by signing Tim. Who saw it?
a knockout of a signing.