Trade target for the Miami Marlins?

The Miami Marlins are planning to trade pitching for hitting. We’re also planning  to move SP Pablo López to get it. This isn’t breaking news, as I’ve talked about it for a while now. A trade between The Fish and the Chicago White Sox is another topic that I covered before. I’ve been seeing a lot of tweets talking about a trade between the two teams for SS Tim Anderson, is it a likely trade? Can it happen? Why or why not? I don’t see it happening and I’ll explain why…

The Miami Marlins are unlikely to acquire Tim Anderson from the Chicago White Sox.

Tim Anderson is a very good SS. He broke out in 2019, with a .335/.357/.508 batting line, 18 home runs and 56 RBI in 123 games and 498 AB. He was worth 4.2 WAR that season. In the shortened 2020 season, he batted .322/.357/.529 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI. In 2021, he batted .309/.338/.469 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 123 games and 527 AB. He was worth 4.8 WAR.

Anderson was injured for most of 2022, but still batted .301/.339/.395 with 6 home runs and 25 RBI in 79 games and 332 AB. He’s controlled for two more seasons via team options at $12.5 million and $14 million. The 29 year old would be worth a 5-6 year deal on the open market at $20 million + per year.

Would the Chicago White Sox trade him? I don’t see why. They need a SS and 2B is already a weak area for them, so losing their best middle infielder doesn’t make much sense. They’re up to their payroll limits, so a pursuit of an elite “top 4” SS is out of the question. They need a starting pitcher, but they have no replacement for Anderson, and acquiring a decent starting pitcher is significantly easier than acquiring a decent SS.

Would The Fish do it or not? I think so as we’re already looking to move Pablo for hitting, and would be getting a very good SS in return. Of course, it’s not about what we want, it’s about what both sides want. This trade just doesn’t make much sense for Chicago. They’re also not rebuilding and just barely missed the playoffs in 2022.