The latest crop of talented, young shortstops is so deep Tim Anderson barely gets mentioned on some of the experts’ top ten lists.
When I asked him earlier this spring which shortstop is the best of the best, Anderson smiled and replied “Outside of me?” before naming the Indians’ Francisco Lindor.
Anderson may not be at Lindor’s level yet, but his stature definitely is on the rise, as evidenced by the White Sox’s decision to sign him to a six-year, $25 deal with only 431 plate appearances under his belt in his rookie year.
It’s a good bet for the Sox, a franchise that must take these kinds of risks. Anderson becomes the latest Sox player to be signed to a long-term deal early in his career, as general manager Rick Hahn has made it his mission to identify and reward kids that have the potential to eventually strike it big in free agency,
The Anderson deal also include another $50.5 million with two club options in 2023 and 2024, according to fanragsports.com.
Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Adam Eaton were the prior recipients of Hahn’s crafty deal-making. Sale is arguably the most underpaid pitcher in baseball right now, or at least second behind Madison Bumgarner.
When the Sox decided to retool, they had no problem dealing Sale and Eaton for top prospects, and are currently holding out on dealing Quintana until they get a bigger package than has been offered.
Everyone wants security, and for the 23-year-old Anderson, turning down a guaranteed $25 million now instead of waiting for a potential $70-$100 million deal six years from now was not the prudent decision. As long as he’s happy for the rest of the deal, we can’t really argue with his decision to forego a huge payday in the future for a very nice one in the present.
Cubs star Anthony Rizzo was in a similar position in 2013 when he signed a seven-year, $41 million deal with two club options through 2021. He’ll make $7 million this year and next, $11 million in 2019 and $14.5 million during the club option years of 2020 and 2021. Certainly that’s a lot of money, and Rizzo was not complaining when he became an All-Star and MVP candidate.
But if he’d waited and became a free agent after 2017, Rizzo likely would’ve earned a contract well over nine figures, so the Cubs won that deal hands down. But that’s the risk players take when they decide to take the money now. Jeff Samardzija declined a sign similarly team-friendly deals, but went on to free agency and got $90 million from the Giants.
Teams are also taking a risk that the player will continue to mature and improive, which isn’t always the case. Shortstop Starlin Castro signed a seven-year $60 million deal in 2012 when he was considered one of the Cubs’ building blocks. But his focus issues and defensive lapses never went away. The Cubs eventually moved Castro to second base before dumping him on Yankees after 2015 to make room for veteran Ben Zobrist and also get rid of Castro’s contract.
Anderson figures to grow on the job, but he still has plenty of improvement in regards to plate discipline, as his 117 strikeouts and only 13 walks suggests. The biggest question about Anderson in the minors was his defense, though he’s been a pleasant surprise so far and will only get better.
Anderson also has the personality and energy to help market the Sox rebuild, and already has become a fan favorite on the South Side.
As for where he’ll wind up among the group of great young shortstops, it’s way too early to tell.
“There are a lot of good shortstops out there right now, and we’re all right around the same age,” Anderson said. “It’s unreal.”
The only thing we really know is that in a few years he’ll probably be one of the more underpaid shortstops on a long list that figures to include Lindor, Corey Seager, Xander Boegarts, Addison Russell, Carlos Correa, Brandon Crawford and maybe even Dansby Swanson, the best shortstop in the minors.
