Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen believes it would be in Tim Anderson's best interests to leave Chicago and start fresh elsewhere.
The Chicago White Sox and Tim Anderson may be nearing the tipping point in 2023 in light of Anderson's season-long struggles, and one former manager thinks Anderson should consider switching teams.
Anderson, a two-time All-Star, is in his eighth season with the White Sox and has fallen far down the pedestal since his MVP-contending 2020 campaign. After four straight seasons of recording an OPS above .700, Anderson's OPS dropped to a career-low .605 in 193 at-bats so far.
The 29-year-old shortstop is slashing .259/.299/.306 and has no homers and 10 RBIs.
The White Sox currently hold a $14-million team option on Anderson for 2024, and after Anderson himself expressed uncertainty about what his future holds, many think Anderson parting ways with Chicago is the best possible solution.
Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen believes Anderson changing his scenery would be for "his own good."
White Sox and Tim Anderson are nearing a fork in the road
"I feel kind of weird for him because I don't think he's having fun on the field… I think this guy has got a great future still in front of him, a great future still in front of him. I don't know if the White Sox are going to spend the money with him because if you don't win with him (in his prime), do you think you're going to win with him later on? That's the question."
Just a day ago, Anderson went on a podcast and said that he understood the business of baseball and didn't feel particularly strongly about staying on the White Sox.
"If they want to keep me, then cool. If they don't, then cool either way."
That doesn't sound like someone who feels valued by the club.
Sitting in third in the AL Central with a 29-39 record, the White Sox are barely staying afloat in the worst division in the MLB and have tough decisions to make about the future.
Despite their terrible start to the season, the White Sox straddle the line between being a playoff pretender or a contender, almost like a deja vu to how the club's 2022 campaign panned out.
If the club and Tim Anderson mutually want to move on, there's hope for both of them to enjoy amplified success in the future. Everything comes down to the deadline.