Report: SF Giants, Angels were interested in top free agent shortstop

According to a report by Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports, the SF Giants and Los Angeles Angels were interested in free agent shortstop Tim Anderson.

Marc Delucchi | Feb 22, 2024

Report: SF Giants, Angels were interested in top free agent shortstop /

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The Miami Marlins agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with free agent shortstop Tim Anderson on Thursday, taking the top free agent shortstop off the market. While it had been reported earlier in the offseason that the SF Giants were not interested in adding a proven veteran like Anderson, a report by Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports goes in the other direction, and claims the Giants and Los Angeles Angels were keeping tabs on the two-time All-Star.

"The Giants and Angels were in on Anderson all offseason, sources tell @YahooSports," Dorsey wrote in a tweet. "But it’s the Marlins that land the former batting champ looking for a bounceback. Their interest dates back to the ‘23 trade deadline."

Anderson is coming off easily the worst season of his career. The two-time All-Star and former Silver Slugger was only able to muster a .245/.286/.296 triple-slash this season with 21 extra-base hits (just one home run) in 524 plate appearances (123 games). His defense and speed have also taken steps back in recent years, according to Statcast metrics like Sprint Speed and Outs Above Average.

Despite coming off such a terrible season, the 31-year old Anderson still had an impressive enough track record to receive a big-league opportunity next season with some guaranteed money. After all, from 2019-2022, he hit .313/.347/.474, won a batting title, Silver Slugger, was selected to a pair of All-Star games, and was clearly one of the best players on the Chicago White Sox.

It's easy to see why the SF Giants were interested in the veteran shortstop. While the team has emphasized wanting to give top prospect Marco Luciano an opportunity to secure the everyday job at short, he is still only 22 with very little experience in the upper minors or majors. Adding someone with Tim Anderson's track record would have given manager Bob Melvin some veteran insurance. Nevertheless, it does suggest the front office is open to adding a more proven veteran, seemingly increasing the chances of adding a current free agent like Adalberto Mondesi or even Brandon Crawford.

Published Feb 22, 2024

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).