Welcome to Miami... Tim Anderson

The Miami Marlins have signed veteran shortstop Tim Anderson to a reported one-year $5MM dollar contract. Anderson, 30, is coming off the worst year of his career hitting just .245 with only 1 home run in 524 plate appearances for the White Sox.

Anderson played his college ball at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. In his freshman year, he hit .360 with 4 home runs and 37 runs batted in. He had a huge sophomore year, leading all junior college baseball players with a .495 average. Anderson was set to transfer to UAB but was instead selected in round 1 (17th overall) by the White Sox in the 2013 draft.

Tim Anderson had some big seasons with the White Sox during his 8 years on the south side of Chicago. He won the batting title in 2019, hitting .335. He was also a back to back all-star in 2021-2022. Overall in his 8 seasons, he hit .282 with 98 home runs and stole 117 bases. 

However, his defense has constantly deteriorated and was even thought of as a future second baseman for the White Sox before buying him out of his club option. Using Defensive Runs Saved as a measurement, he was rated a combined 23 runs below average over the past 2 seasons. Only Bobby Witt, Jr. of Kansas City was rated lower.

The Marlins were unsettled at the shortstop position and had utility man Jon Berti penciled in at the shortstop. Anderson adds a veteran bat to a lineup that has Josh Bell, Luis Arraez, and Jazz Chisholm. The Marlins are a very young team who could use the leadership skills of Anderson to help get them over the hump in a very tough NL East. 

Marlins' Projected 2024 Lineup 

2B- Luis Arraez

1B- Josh Bell

CF- Jazz Chisholm

3B- Jake Burger

LF- Bryan De La Cruz

RF- Jesus Sanchez

DH- Avisail Garcia

SS- Tim Anderson

C- Nick Fortes

Anderson still has decent pop in his bat and he can still be a threat on the base paths. He has had back to back seasons with very little power and it will remain to be seen if he can get back to his double digit homer totals he has had throughout his career. He has suffered with errors both mentally and physically, especially in the field. He was definitely the best shortstop option left in free agency and could be a great addition, especially for only $5MM.

Draft Nation Stats- 1st round pick (17th overall) in the 2013 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.