White Sox pick up Anderson's option, decline Harrison's
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CHICAGO -- Tim Anderson will return for an eighth season as White Sox shortstop as Chicago announced on Monday it had exercised his $12.5 million club option for 2023.
The White Sox also declined the $5.5 million club option for 2023 on infielder Josh Harrison, with a $1.5 million buyout.
Anderson, 29, slashed .301/.339/.395 over 79 games and 351 plate appearances in 2022. He finished with 13 doubles, six home runs, 25 RBIs, 13 stolen bases and 50 runs scored, and he was an All-Star Game starter, just the fourth shortstop in White Sox history to receive such an honor.
But Anderson’s presence was missed during the final two months of Chicago's disappointing 81-81 campaign. If José Abreu was the heart of the team, then Anderson was the one who consistently raised the energy level. He went on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 9 with a sagittal band tear on the middle finger of his left hand and missed the rest of the season following surgery.
That injury stemmed from a checked swing during an at-bat against the Rangers on Aug. 6 in Arlington.
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“I kind of understood the process,” said Anderson in an interview during the last home series against Minnesota. “I kept working, tried to get in the best position to get back healthy. But just couldn't quite get there.
“[I'm just going to] try to get healthy, for the most part, and just continue to keep building. Hopefully, [I] can continue to get better.”
Elvis Andrus replaced Anderson as a free-agent pickup on Aug. 19 after he was released by the A’s, and he brought that needed energy at shortstop, hitting nine home runs and stealing 11 bases in just 43 games at the top of the White Sox order. Andrus, 34, is a free agent, and a return to Chicago would facilitate a move to second base, where he has never played.
Harrison, 35, slashed .256/.317/.370 with 19 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 27 RBIs and 50 runs scored in 119 games last season after signing with Chicago as a free agent. The veteran was a standout clubhouse presence and, after a miserable start during which he hit .149 through May 16, Harrison finished with a .279 average and a .730 OPS over his last 350 plate appearances.
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The White Sox need more balance from the left side in their lineup, and second base figures to be one of the options to fill that need. Under new manager Pedro Grifol, Anderson and the White Sox are trying put the underachievement of 2022 quickly behind them in the midst of this competitive window.
“So up and down, never could find that hot streak,” said Anderson, whose .319 average since the start of the 2019 season leads the Majors. “Hopefully we could carry it on, but we just couldn't find it. But for the most part, we understand what happened. We've got to come back, and be better and continue to keep working.”
Anderson’s six-year, $25 million deal has a $14 million club option with a $1 million buyout for 2024 before the shortstop can enter free agency prior to the ’25 season.