Nov. 09--The Tribune will be doing position-by-position analyses for the 2015 White Sox. Today, we look at shortstop.
Key 2015 statistics
Alexei Ramirez: 154 games, .249 batting average, 33 doubles, 10 home runs, 62 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, seven caught stealing, 31 walks, 68 strikeouts, .642 OPS; 16 errors, 105 double plays, .977 fielding percentage; minus-0.5 WAR
Contract status for 2016
Ramirez: Free agent
Tyler Saladino: Under team control
Carlos Sanchez: Under team control
Tim Anderson: Under team control
Breakdown
When the Sox declined Ramirez's $10 million option last week, giving him a $1 million buyout that made him a free agent, shortstop became one of the biggest uncertainties for the Sox in 2016.
After a 2014 season in which he was an American League All-Star, a Silver Slugger Award winner and a Gold Glove finalist, Ramirez had an uneven 2015 campaign. After a very poor start to the year on offense and defense, he bounced back in the second half, but he still finished with the worst WAR among 20 qualified shortstops, according to FanGraphs.
Ramirez, a career .273 hitter in eight major-league seasons with the Sox, made 150-plus starts at shortstop in each of the last six seasons.
There's a chance Ramirez could be back on a different free-agent deal with the Sox, especially since he was vocal about wanting to stay with the team during the season. But if not, the Sox have a few internal options, in addition to the possibility of adding a player for the short term via free agency or trade.
Anderson is projected as the Sox's future shortstop, but he hasn't played above Double-A Birmingham, where he hit .312 with 38 extra-base hits, 46 RBIs and 49 stolen bases last year. He also reportedly improved his defense, which has been a point of emphasis.
But the Sox also don't want to push Anderson into the big leagues before he's ready, so they could go with another player within their system.
While solid on defense while mostly playing third base, Saladino hit just .225 with a .267 on-base percentage over 68 games. He is a natural shortstop and so could slip into that role if needed. So could Sanchez, who was an excellent defender at second base but also had mixed results on offense.
