Chicago White Sox, Tim Anderson Agree to Six-Year Contract Extension
The Chicago White Sox have locked up one of their best young players for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox announced a contract extension with starting shortstop Tim Anderson. The team reported the deal as a six-year, $25 million contract extension.
According to ESPN.com, Anderson will receive steady raises over the next few years, capping out at $9.5 million in 2022. Anderson is locked in through 2022, but the White Sox also have team option years in 2023 (for $12.5 million) and 2024 ($14 million).
This contract probably gives Anderson more money up front but the White Sox have the option years on the back-end. Without this extension, Anderson would have hit free agency after the 2022 season. Now, the White Sox will have a chance to decide whether to keep him around instead of perhaps losing him on the open market.
The 23-year-old shortstop made his big league debut with the White Sox last season. Anderson hit .283/.306/.432 in 410 big league at-bats. He is an extremely quick and athletic player who will always hit for a high average, but his lack of plate discipline is alarming.
Anderson struck out an ugly 117 times to only 13 walks. According to Fangraphs, that gives him a strikeout rate of 27.1% and walk rate of 3%. His walk rate is clearly in the “awful” category compared to league average, while his strikeout rate is literally percentage points away from being “awful”.
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Anderson is an extremely talented player who has a ton of natural upside. He has the raw skills that scouts love in their ball players. If he figures it all out, Anderson is going to be one of the most exciting players in baseball. However, he is never going to get there striking out this much and not taking any walks.
The White Sox did a nice job of finding value in this contract. Getting those two option years at the end of the deal could be huge for this team down the line. However, let’s not get too excited about Anderson. He still has a lot of work to do before this contract becomes a major value.