Grading the White Sox: Tim Anderson

At midseason, the SSS staff graded the 46-46 White Sox, from the head of the class Dylan Cease down to Dallas Keuchel. We invented a WARsss metric that could very well be just a cute way to trot out our special site grades — but really for all you know could be the product of years of research in a stats lab.

Our expanded report card will take us through everyone who saw time in uniform for the White Sox, plus some front-office types. Most of our writers will take on a couple of players, with final grades and short writeups, running through the end of November. Enjoy!

Tim Anderson
Shortstop
Midseason: 3.5 WARsss
Final 3.43 WARsss

Like it was for the team overall, it was a rollercoaster season for White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.

There were a few brief, bright spots for the two-time All-Star. One was his very early season play, from April through mid-June: TA batted .310 leading up to the All-Star break. As a result of his white-hot start, Anderson was selected as the starting shortstop for the 92nd All-Star Game. It was the first time in 52 years that a shortstop for the Sox was chosen to start the game.

Then, the luminous light quickly faded, and the cloud of darkness that doomed the 2022 White Sox also descended on Anderson. His play dropped significantly during July and August, with the stat line for his last 30 games trickling out at .250/.289/.305.

Anderson played only 14 games after the All-Star break, and missed the last two months of the season due to a hand injury; TA played in a total of only 79 games for the entire season. His final slash line was .301/.339/.395, with six home runs, resulting in a wRC+ of 111. While those results are respectable, having him in the leadoff spot for only 49% of games played for the season created a significant weakness in this White Sox lineup.

Unfortunately, the defensive showing for Anderson was also a disappointment this season. He had a total of 12 errors, compared to 10 in 2021 — two more errors in a season where he played 43 fewer games. His final fielding percentage landed at .962, the third-lowest of his career and significantly lower than Elvis Andrus, who the Sox signed in mid-August as a replacement for the injured Anderson. Andrus had a fielding percentage of .982, ranking him third in the American League.

Finally, Anderson faced some on-the-field discipline issues as well. TA had to serve two separate, two-game suspensions during the 2022 season. The first one was a rollover from the 2021 season, when in September 2021, TA bumped umpire Tim Timmons during a bench-clearing kerfuffle with the Tigers. The second suspension resulted from Anderson’s helmet making contact with home plate umpire Nick Mahrley’s hat while arguing a called strike in a game against the Oakland A’s in July. He served that suspension in early August. Additionally, Anderson would have had a third suspension to add to the list, for flipping the bird to Guardians fans (I mean, do you blame him?) in April, but he appealed and won, resulting only in a fine.

It is safe to say that this year was a calamity for the All-Star shortstop and the team overall. Hopefully, TA and the rest of the Sox will come to spring training with a chip on their shoulder and a hunger to return to the playoffs in 2023.

Looking ahead

Assuming a healthy Anderson returns in April, there’s no reason for him not to reaffirm his status as one of the most crucial clubhouse leaders and the offensive powerhouse that the White Sox have come to expect from him. Having him in complete health and locked in at the top of the lineup for an entire season will be crucial.

On another note, Anderson will also represent the South Siders in the World Baseball Classic. The WBC will be played March 11-25, 2023, at Chase Field in Phoenix. TA is expected to be the starting shortstop.

2022 White Sox Grades

Tim Anderson, SS, 3.43
Kendall Graveman, RHRP, 3.1
Josh Harrison, 2B, 3.0
Gavin Sheets, RF-1B, 2.5
Jake Burger, 3B, 2.2
Romy González, IF, 2.0
Aaron Bummer, LHRP, 1.8
AJ Pollock, OF, 1.3
Matt Foster, RHRP, 1.2
Yoán Moncada, 3B, 0.92
Lenyn Sosa, SS, 0.85
José Ruiz, RHRP, 0.83
Mark Payton, OF, 0.6
Carlos Pérez, C, 0.399
Lucas Giolito, RHSP, 0.392
Adam Engel, OF, 0.237
Vince Velasquez, RHP, -0.4
Reese McGuire, C, -1.1
Kyle Crick, RHRP, -1.65
Joe Kelly, RHRP, -1.75
Daryl Boston, 1B Coach, -2.0
Anderson Severino, LHRP, -2.2
Jerry Reinsdorf, OWN, -2.321
Jake Diekman, LHRP, -2.366
Rick Hahn, GM, -2.401
Bennett Sousa, LHRP, -2.425
Frank Menechino, BAT COACH, -2.469
Yasmani Grandal, C/DH, -2.549
Leury García, UTIL, -2.7
Adam Haseley, OF, -3.146
Joe McEwing, 3B Coach, -3.167
Ryan Burr, RHRP, -3.4
Tony La Russa, MGR, -3.5
Dallas Keuchel, LHSP, -3.9