Tim Anderson To Red Sox? How Oddsmakers View Potential White Sox Trade
Boston is a long shot to land the White Sox shortstop
With starting pitchers like Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck all working back from their respective injuries, it’s easy to understand why the Boston Red Sox would target pitching depth ahead of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline.
But what if Boston wanted to kick the tires on a veteran infielder as well? After all, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom recently shared the Red Sox will keep all doors open.
“We’re going to stay involved on every front because you never know where you find good deals,” Bloom told reporters at Fenway Mark on Tuesday. “There’s always deals that can fit whether rentals or long-term guys.”
Perhaps one of those deals could be Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. Anderson is coming off consecutive campaigns where he made the MLB All-Star Game. However, he is having a down 2023 campaign for the South Siders. Anderson is hitting a career-low .245 with 69 strikeouts and zero home runs in 319 at-bats.
Chicago on Wednesday night sent Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels indicating the 41-62 White Sox, who currently are 16 games back of the final American League wild-card spot, might be entering sell mode.
Oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook, though, don’t appear to think the Red Sox are players for Anderson. Anderson has odds listed for what team he’ll represent in his first plate appearance after the Aug. 1 trade deadline, and the Red Sox are well down the list at 20-1.
The White Sox (+150) are the favorite to maintain Anderson followed by the Milwaukee Brewers (+275) and Miami Marlins (5-1).
Chicago White Sox +150
Milwaukee Brewers +275
Miami Marlins +500
Any Other Team +500
San Francisco Giants +900
Seattle Mariners +1300
Atlanta Braves +1500
Minnesota Twins +2000
Boston Red Sox +2000
Los Angeles Dodgers +3000
The impending return of shortstop Trevor Story might influence the minds of bookmakers. Because while the Red Sox have struggled to piece together production at shortstop — part of the reason Kiké Hernández was traded earlier this week — Boston now is close to getting Story back. And he’s fared well during his rehab assignments after he missed the start of the campaign due to elbow surgery.
For what it’s worth, the Red Sox have even longer odds to land Justin Verlander (25-1) from the New York Mets.
