Tim Anderson started at shortstop for the American League in the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. But 16 months later, the Chicago White Sox announced on Saturday they had declined their option on Anderson’s contract.

Rather than pay Anderson $14 million for the 2024 season, the White Sox chose to pay him a $1 million buyout to become a free agent.

Anderson’s .318 batting average from 2019 through 2022 was the highest in the Major Leagues for any player with at least 1,000 at-bats across those four seasons. He was an American League all-star in 2021 and 2022. Anderson won the American League batting championship in 2019 and a Silver Slugger Award in 2020.

But in 2023, Anderson hit .245 with a .286 on-base average and .296 slugging percentage. Anderson missed about three weeks with a knee sprain and dealt with shoulder soreness during the season.

Anderson earned All-State honors at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa in 2011. He also helped the Patriots win the AHSAA Class 6A boys’ basketball championship that year.

The White Sox chose Anderson from East Central Community College at No. 17 in the 2013 draft, and he became Chicago’s regular shortstop during the 2016 season, a position he held for the next eight seasons.

The White Sox signed Anderson to a six-year, $25 million contract before the 2017 season. He had played 99 games in the 2016 season, and at that time, his deal was the most lucrative signed by a player with less than one full season of experience.

The contract included team options for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and White Sox declined the 2023 option on Saturday.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.