MLB Rumors: White Sox FA Tim Anderson Drawing 'Strong Interest' from Angels

The Los Angeles Angels have "strong interest" in free agent shortstop Tim Anderson after the Chicago White Sox declined his 2024 option.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Angels could move Anderson to second base if they were to sign him.

The 30-year-old finished with a career-low .582 OPS last season, although he was named an All-Star in both 2021 and 2022.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian is likely betting that Anderson's 2023 campaign was an outlier rather than the start of a negative career trajectory.

"We have to win games in different ways," Minasian said earlier this offseason on MLB Network. "If there's a day out there where we need to pitch and play defense and it's a low scoring game, we need to figure out how to do that. Move a runner. Score a man on third with less than 2 outs. Play situational baseball. When there's a day when we need to do well and score some runs, we need to do that too."

Anderson has been an excellent situational hitter throughout his career. With a runner on third and less than two outs, he owns a slash line of .336/.366/.479 while recording 87 RBIs in 164 plate appearances.

He hit over .300 in each of the four seasons prior to 2023, winning the batting title in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Angels as a team hit just .245 this past season. That ranked 18th league-wide.

The White Sox continued to lower their payroll by declining Anderson's option, as general manager Chris Getz was blunt about the roster following a disappointing 101-loss season.

"I don't like my team," Getz said, per Nightengale. "We have a talented group, there is no question, but it's not a well-rounded club right now."