Two-time All-Star shortstop and former American League batting champion Tim Anderson may have hit rock bottom on Tuesday.
Marlins have DFA’d Tim Anderson.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) July 2, 2024
Two years ago, Tim Anderson was an All-Star; today DFA'd by one of the weakest lineups in MLB.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 2, 2024
It's not hard to see why -- striking out more, hitting less hard, running slower, fielding worse, all bad things. But I'm having a hard time remembering a trend like this, so quickly. pic.twitter.com/o0rvWUhNZZ
Insider Craig Mish explained the Miami Marlins' decision, saying that Anderson appeared to be a good teammate but struggled mightily on the field.
By all accounts Anderson was perfectly fine in the clubhouse. Can’t say a negative thing about him. On the field his play has just completely deteriorated. Not much else to add. Miami eats the money and moves on.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) July 2, 2024
The 31-year-old was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the 17th overall pick in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft and made his big-league debut in June 2016. Anderson played his first eight seasons with the South Siders, winning the 2019 AL batting title with a career-high .335 batting average.
He won a Silver Slugger Award during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022.
Following a dismal 2023 season, Chicago let Anderson walk into free agency, declining their option on the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native. Anderson finished last year with a career-low one home run, adding only 25 RBI and a brutal .245/.286/.296 slash line.
He also posted an ugly 122-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his 493 at-bats, covering 123 games. Anderson missed three weeks in April due to injury and was later suspended six games for his role in a brawl with the Cleveland Guardians.
He was offered the starting shortstop gig in South Beach in late February and signed a one-year, $5M contract with the Marlins shortly thereafter.
Anderson finished his 65-game tenure with Miami with 0 home runs, nine RBI, three doubles, four stolen bases (and four times caught stealing) and a .214/.237/.226 slash line over 234 at-bats.
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