Anderson’s Brief Second Base Stint Highlights A Bigger Problem

The way the White Sox have handled Tim Anderson this year has been strange. On Monday, Anderson returned to the starting lineup as a shortstop for the first time in eight days.

Anderson left a game in Seattle after just one at-bat with right shoulder soreness on June 17th. The White Sox listed him as day-to-day. Instead of placing him on the 10-day injured list, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol and the front office opted to keep him out of the starting lineup for the next three games.

It was clear that something was wrong with Anderson. Even when Grifol used him as a pinch hitter on June 20th against the Texas Rangers, he did not look healthy enough to play. He exited the game after his pinch hit at bat, where he hit a soft ground ball to second base that advanced the runners over.

It was a puzzling move from Grifol because it reset the timeline Anderson could be retroactive to if the team decided to put him on the 10-day IL, mainly because it was just for one at-bat when he wasn’t even healthy enough to play the field.

After an off day on Thursday, Anderson was again out of the White Sox’s initial lineup on June 23rd, much to the chagrin of White Sox fans.

The White Sox have a bad habit of playing shorthanded while an injured player tries to recover so they can avoid placing them on the IL. Because of this, they can’t properly rehab the injury, and it lingers around longer, even after they return. It looked like Anderson was heading down the same path.

However, in a shocking turn of events, Pedro Grifol met with the media for the second time in 45 minutes, announcing that Anderson would return to the lineup.

Grifol said Anderson approached him in the clubhouse, asking if he could play second base. During warmups, he said the throw from shortstop was too long for his injured shoulder, but he could handle second base.

“He threw, started playing, was taking his ground balls at short, and he brought it up to me where ‘I can play second if we need it,”‘ Grifol told reporters 45 minutes after his first media session to explain his updated lineup. “I asked him, ‘How do you feel with it?’ And he said, ‘I’d like to go over there to get in the lineup. I would like to be a part of this thing.’

Grifol agreed, so on Anderson’s 30th birthday, he made his first MLB start at second base after playing his previous 817 at shortstop.

“We talked about it. Obviously got Rick involved, and he’s going to play second base. This is about him wanting to be a part of this lineup tonight and helping us win a baseball game.”

The following day he was back at second base.

Anderson got seven attempts at second base with a 71 percent success rate, according to StatCast. Left-handed batters and moving back toward third base gave him the most trouble. He posted a -1 Outs Above Average during his short stint at second base and a -10 Success Rate Added.

During his first game at second base, he missed a pickoff throw from Lucas Giolito, which allowed David Hamilton to score from second base.

For the Sunday series finale, Anderson was back on the bench, giving him a day off before the team traveled to Los Angeles. Grifol had Anderson back at shortstop on Monday night.

Anderson wanting to return to the lineup is understandable, especially on his birthday. However, moving him to second base seems strange when he does not excel at his usual position.

Many speculated the move was a showcase to help increase his trade value by showing other teams he could play second base. This wouldn’t make any sense either because Anderson already showed other teams he could play second base during the World Baseball Classic, and reports indicate that the front office is only interested in trading expiring contracts.

Hitting .333 with a .881 OPS at second base over six games increased his value during the WBC. Making an error and going 0-for-7 in two games at second base against the Red Sox did not.

It would be easier to overlook any defensive shortcomings if Anderson were producing at the plate, but he isn’t. He has been a liability for the White Sox this season.

Out of the 168 players with a minimum of 230 plate appearances, Tim Anderson’s 53 wRC+ ranks last. The veteran shortstop also ranks in the bottom two percent of the MLB in Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA).

Anderson’s track record has given him the right to struggle this season. But it seems like the White Sox could be doing more to help him limit these struggles.

For example, Pedro Grifol insisted on batting Anderson in the lead-off spot despite posting a .251/.290.296 slash line. His .586 OPS was the lowest it has been since 2018.

Grifol eventually moved Anderson down in the lineup but only one spot. To nobody’s surprise, the struggles have continued. In his first 14 plate appearances from the two-hole, Anderson has just one RBI from a sac-fly and had yet to record a hit.

Anderson needs to be moved lower in the batting order to take some pressure off him until he can get his swing right. Allowing him a full ten days on the IL to rehab his shoulder and not have to worry about pinch-hitting or playing second base probably would have also been beneficial.

At the moment, his presence in the lineup is not helping the White Sox win games. Why not let him get fully healthy and reset so he can return to a point where he can?