Tim Anderson still without a team; Yasmani Grandal signs with Pirates

Tim Anderson

When the White Sox fired former general manager Rick Hahn and promoted Chris Getz into the position, one of the key questions posed to Getz was, "How are you different from Hahn?"

Actually, I think there are some differences. What I'm about to say is speculation here, but I think Getz handled Tim Anderson's situation much different than Hahn would have.

Getz declined Anderson's $14 million contract option for 2024 and let the former All-Star become a free agent. Then he brought in a glove-first shortstop in Paul DeJong. 

I believe Hahn would have picked up Anderson's option and bet on him having a "bounce-back year." Hahn had a lot of difficulty moving on from his beloved "core players," even when reality was slapping him in the face. Accordingly, Hahn lost his job.

As we sit here on the evening of Feb. 12, two days before pitchers and catchers report, Anderson is still without a team. I feel as though this confirms Getz made the right choice not to pick up that option. Anderson isn't worth a $14 million contract coming off the worst season of his career, and clearly, 29 other teams feel the same way as the Sox.

It stinks to have to talk bad about Anderson, because he was a good player for the Sox from 2019 through the first two months of 2022. But since Anderson suffered a groin injury against the Cubs on Memorial Day weekend 2022, he's never been the same player.

After June 1 in 2022, Anderson played only 39 games and delivered just five extra-base hits -- four doubles and one home run. His batting average plummeted from .356 down to .301. His slugging percentage took a massive nosedive. He was slugging .503 at the time of the aforementioned injury against the Cubs. He finished the year at .395, after suffering a hand injury Aug. 6 that cost him the rest of his season.

We know the story in 2023. Anderson homered only one time in 524 plate appearances. He batted .245/.286/.296. There was no power in his swing whatsoever. You could almost knock the bat out of his hands at times. Even in his prime, Anderson was never a plus defender, and he struggled in the field, as well, in 2023. 

In past seasons, Anderson's good bat covered up for any defensive problems, but what happens to a bat-first player who can't hit the ball with authority anymore? Well, he's still a free agent on Feb. 12. That's what happens.

Rumors have tied Anderson to both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins. I don't have any bad feelings toward the guy. I hope he gets a job soon. But I'm good with him no longer being a member of the White Sox.

I'm just not sure what Anderson does well at this stage of his career. What role can a team trust him to play? I don't have an answer for that.

Grandal to Pirates

Speaking of players in decline, former Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal agreed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

I'm somewhat surprised Grandal is hanging on for another year at age 35. He was really bad for the Sox the past two years -- a .570 OPS in 2022 and a .647 OPS last season. Grandal hit only five homers in 2022 and eight homers last year, after totaling 23 home runs for the Sox in 2021.

Injuries have taken their toll. Grandal is arguably the slowest runner I've ever seen in baseball. Yes, I'm taking both Paul Konerko and Greg Luzinski over him in a race. And Grandal's defense declined to the point where there was talk that Sox pitchers preferred to throw to Seby Zavala.

This is another example where I'm good with a player no longer being a member of the White Sox.

Party like it's 1983! Tony La Russa named White Sox manager

This offseason, the White Sox need a manager, a designated hitter and a right fielder, preferably one that can swing from the left side of the plate.

Hey, maybe the answers are all right here on a shelf in my man cave! (See picture at right.)

OK, so maybe Harold Baines isn't coming back to play right field, and Greg Luzinski probably can't handle the DH role anymore. The question is whether Tony La Russa can still manage at a championship level.

We're going to find out, because the Sox hired him Thursday in a controversial move, to say the least. I'm not sure I know one single Sox fan who is happy with this decision, and I am no different. 

You can't knock La Russa's credentials. He's in the Hall of Fame as a manager. He's won three World Series and six pennants. He ranks third all-time with 2,728 wins -- and he only needs 36 wins to move into second place.

Thing is, La Russa is 76 years old, and he hasn't managed since he led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship in 2011. Sox general manager Rick Hahn is on the record as having said the ideal managerial candidate would be someone who has "experience with a championship organization in recent years."

La Russa checks the box on experience with a championship organization. The recent years part, not so much. I do not consider 2011 to be recent. Maybe others do, but I don't. The game has changed a lot in the past 10 years. 

The worst part of this hire, for me, is that the Sox didn't seem to conduct anything resembling a thorough search. They fixated on one guy and, of course, it's La Russa, a longtime favorite of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. 

La Russa managed the Sox from 1979-86. That's a long time ago, folks. We're going back to my childhood, and I'm a 44-year-old man now. La Russa was the Sox manager when I attended my first game at old Comiskey Park ... 39 years ago.

Reinsdorf is on the record as saying his biggest mistake was firing La Russa ... in 1986. So apparently, the big priority here is righting a wrong that happened in 1986. That's a shame, because I thought the big priority here was for the Sox to win a World Series in 2021.

Maybe La Russa can do that, but color me skeptical that a 76-year-old man who has been out of the game for nine years is going to relate well to players who are 50 years younger than he is. 

I actually have no doubt that La Russa is a smart enough man to combine new-school and old-school thoughts on the game. I think he'll pay attention to analytics, but he won't be a slave to it. Both the old school and the new school have their place in my view. The in-game management itself, I think La Russa can do that part.

The problem here is, will guys want to play for him? I'm not sure.

But I think the thing that pisses fans off most is that this is another "insular" hire. Jeff Passan's tweet from earlier today summed it up. Here's the tweet:

"The hiring of Tony La Russa has ruffled feathers in the White Sox organization. A number of employees have concerns about his ability to connect with younger players and how he will adapt to the field after being away 9 years. .... This was a Jerry Reinsdorf decision. Simple as that."

Yes, this was not a decision by baseball operations, as it should have been. It was a decision by a weird, octogenarian billionaire owner whose main interest has always been to surround himself with friends and loyal soldiers.

Sure, Reinsdorf wants to win, but he wants to win his way. And I don't think his way is going to work.