Tim

Anderson

No team was willing to take on the remainder of Anderson’s salary after he was waived earlier this week by the Marlins. After two consecutive dismal campaigns at the dish, it’s possible he won’t get another shot in the majors moving forward. It’s been a sudden precipitous decline for the 31-year-old shortstop, who was one of the premier performers at his position just a few years ago. He might be able to latch on somewhere on a minor league deal, but that’s probably it at this stage of his career.

Anderson is now off the active and 40-man roster. Assuming he goes unclaimed or untraded, he could either report to Triple-A Jacksonville or elect free agency. It’s likely that free agency will be the play, and Miami could just choose to release him rather than give him the option.

Xavier Edwards will be brought up to take Anderson’s place on the roster. The 31-year-old was brought in by Miami in hopes that he could find the hit tool that made him one of the better infielders in baseball not long ago. He did not as seen in a .214 average, .463 OPS and 68 strikeouts in 234 at-bats. The Marlins will look to trade Anderson or see him potentially claimed off the waiver wire, but it seems unlikely he would report to Triple-A if neither of those things happen. It seems that Anderson’s days of being a fantasy helper could be over.

The Marlins have treated Anderson as an everyday player throughout his struggles, but it looks like that might be changing now. Before being excluded from Sunday’s lineup, he had sat just three times this year, not including his IL stint and his three days of bereavement leave. Anderson actually heated up some a couple of weeks ago, but it was all singles; in 10 games from June 11-21, he hit an amazing .405/.405/.405. He’s since gone 0-for-11 to tumble back to .220/.244/.234 overall.

With Tim Anderson coming off the bereavement list, the Marlins will send Edwards back to Triple-A where he has a .365/.411/.481 slash line in 13 games with three steals. He likely deserves to get a chance over the veteran, but it’s unclear when the Marlins will give him that shot.

The veteran is back after missing the weekend series. He’ll most likely return to his starting role at shortstop despite hitting .188 with no home runs in 165 at-bats with Miami this year. He should not be rostered in fantasy leagues. Xavier Edwards was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Anderson has struggled mightily this season. He’s hitting .188 with no home runs in 165 at-bats with Miami this year. He’ll be out for a few games now that he’s on the bereavement list.

Anderson probably cost the Marlins the game on defense Monday, and he’s on the short list of the game’s worst hitters at .199/.235/.219 this season. A batting champ in 2019 and an All-Star in both 2021 and ’22, it’s hard to understand why he looks so finished now at age 30. Still, he’s turned into such a liability that he should not be in the major leagues at this point.

Anderson missed nearly two weeks while dealing with a lower back strain. The 30-year-old has hit just .197/.234/.221 with no homers and three steals in 128 plate appearances, and it’s very possible his days of being a fantasy option have passed. Tristan Gray is back in Jacksonville to make room for Anderson on the roster.

Anderson was placed on the injured list May 13 with lower back tightness, so the shortstop will end up missing a little over a week. He’ll take over starting shortstop duties, and Tristan Gray will be optioned back to Triple-A in the corresponding move per Azout.