Tim Anderson’s fall continues...
Tim Anderson’s latest shot at redemption has come to an early end. The Los Angeles Angels designated the 31-year-old shortstop, Tim Anderson for assignment on Wednesday, parting ways with the former batting champion after just 31 games in Anaheim.
It’s another tough chapter in what has been a sharp decline for one of baseball’s former elite shortstops. Signed to a minor league deal this past offseason, Tim Anderson couldn’t turn things around in Southern California. Over 90 plate appearances, he managed just a .205 batting average, drew only three walks, and struck out 29 times. His slugging percentage (.241) reflected the lack of power, zero home runs and only two extra-base hits.
For a player who was once the centerpiece of the White Sox’s rebuild and a key figure in the league’s effort to market a new, flashier brand of baseball, Anderson’s rapid decline has been jarring.
Just a few seasons ago, he was one of the most productive hitters in the game. From 2019 to 2022, Tim Anderson slashed .318/.347/.473, capturing the AL batting title in 2019 with a .335 average and earning a Silver Slugger in 2020. That same year, he finished seventh in AL MVP voting, cementing his status as one of the game’s premier shortstops.
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Even in 2022, despite injuries limiting him to 79 games, Tim Anderson hit .301 with six home runs and 14 steals. But that would be the last time he resembled his prime self. Things unraveled in 2023. Across a full season with the Chicago White Sox, Anderson hit just .245 and slugged a career-low .296, managing only one home run in 765 plate appearances stretching into 2024. He parted ways with Chicago after eight seasons, then landed in Miami on a one-year, $5 million deal, but was released by the Marlins in July. The Angels took a low-risk flier, but that too has ended without a payoff.
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