Tim Anderson is one of the many players rumored to be on the move at the MLB trade deadline.
One report from Jon Heyman detailed the White Sox plan to protect Dylan Cease, Luis Robert Jr., Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn from being traded at the deadline. The list did not include Anderson.
Now the rumors are heating up further. MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported the chances of Anderson being moved at the deadline are "increasing," with a slight caveat.
Anderson did, in fact, play second base for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic in the spring. Trae Turner held the post at shortstop, motivating Anderson to play second base to remain in the lineup.
He accepted the role dutifully, mentioning his reluctant attitude, at first.
"I kinda knew going into it he (Mark DeRosa, Team USA manager) wanted me to play (second base)," Anderson said in March. "At first, I wasn't open, but I wanted my bat to be in the lineup, so I wanted to play. Moving over to second, it wasn't easy but it definitely worked out."
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Anderson gained a new perspective playing second base, saying he'd be open to playing there in the future. Though, he sees many days at shortstop ahead of him, as it stands.
"We'll keep playing our time at short until we see what happens," said Anderson. "But right now our main focus is getting back over at short, see where that leads me in the next few years. I'll still be open to second, but once I'm done with short. We'll see how it goes," Anderson said.
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Anderson's chances of being traded are questionable, despite the report, in my opinion. He endured a tough start to the season at the plate, batting .223 before the All-Star break, failing to hit a home run and striking out a whopping 61 times in 274 plate appearances.
Since then, he's improved drastically, but with a small sample size. He's hitting .375 in 24 at-bats with a .861 OPS. He's getting the ball in play and creating a dangerous 1-2-3 lineup with Andrew Benintendi, himself and Luis Robert Jr., the latter of whom is having a career year at the plate.
He's on a team-friendly contract, having one more season on his deal after this one that's a club option. If a team opted to trade for him, they could decline his option for next season, or strand him in free agency in the subsequent offseason when his deal expires.
Should Anderson be on the market, he could draw abundant interest in his services, especially if he maintains his current form at the plate. Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen would like to see him play on the west coast if he's traded.
"I think TA next to Mookie (Betts) and TA doesn't have to be the man, the swagger," Guillen said, alluding to the Dodgers as a perfect destination for Anderson. "I think it would be good for him to play around people who will push him to play better. And with the manager (Dave) Roberts, I guarantee Tim Anderson is gonna be a great ball player.
"If they're (White Sox) gonna trade him, I hope it's to the Dodgers because I know TA would be great with the Dodgers."
