Apologetic White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson to begin serving suspension Friday

An apologetic Tim Anderson had his six-game suspension from Major League Baseball stemming from his fight with Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez on Aug. 5 reduced by one game Thursday.

Anderson was going to appeal but reached a settlement with MLB and will not be available starting Friday, when the Sox (48-73) open a three-game series against the Rockies in Colorado.

The Sox will play a man short while Anderson serves the suspension, but with Elvis Andrus and Zach Remillard the only middle infielders on the 26-man roster, they are expected to call up infielder Lenyn Sosa from Triple-A Charlotte. Another roster move would be made to make room for Sosa, who is batting .271/.313/.507 with 17 home runs and an .820 OPS in 71 games for Charlotte. Sosa hit .132/.145/.221 with one homer in 22 games for the Sox this season.

Anderson, who traveled with the team to Denver on Thursday evening, won’t play in Colorado and will miss home games against the Mariners on Monday and Tuesday.

“I want to apologize to the entire White Sox organization, my teammates, manager and coaches and to the fans for my part in the altercation which took place in Cleveland,” Anderson posted Thursday on Instagram. “This has been an incredibly disappointing season for me personally and for our team. I will not get into the things that were said to me by Cleveland players both Friday night and Saturday, but those comments do not excuse my language or conduct, and I take full responsibility for my emotions getting the better of me.”

The Anderson-Ramirez fight at Progressive Field attracted national attention, with Anderson dropping his glove like a hockey fighter and putting up his fists to take on Ramirez near second base after the two exchanged words following Ramirez’s ordinary headfirst slide into second base. After throwing two punches that didn’t land, Anderson took one on the side of his jaw from Ramirez and fell straight back like a boxer hitting the canvas.

A benches- and dugout-clearing brawl ensued, with Anderson trying to get back at Ramirez but being restrained by teammates, including Andrew Vaughn, who kept Anderson back with a bear hug from behind. The game was delayed 14 minutes before order was restored.

“The Cleveland players are free to say whatever they want, but I will just say that no one has more respect for the game of baseball than me,” Anderson said on Instagram. “I look forward to returning after serving my suspension and finishing the season playing the best baseball I can to help my team.”

Ramirez and Anderson also were fined an undisclosed amount. Guardians manager Terry Francona, closer Emmanuel Clase and third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and Sox manager Pedro Grifol were suspended for one game.

Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and Guardians rookie Gabriel Arias were fined for their actions.

Ramirez was handed a three-game suspension that was reduced to two games on appeal. He sat out games on Saturday and Sunday against the Rays.

Anderson has played in five of the Sox’ nine games since the fight, missing the team’s 5-3 victory Tuesday against the Cubs with neck stiffness, and has not talked to the media since the fight.

It has been a most difficult season for the 2019 batting champion. Anderson was batting .298 when he sprained his knee in April on a poorly executed rundown by the Sox’ infield and never got untracked when he returned. He also has acknowledged dealing with off-field family problems that went public on social media.

Since the All-Star break, Anderson is batting .281/.355/.344 with his only homer after batting .223/.259/.263 in the first half, but he’s 2-for-17 with no extra-base hits and eight strikeouts since the fight. He has played well defensively of late, though, and has committed only one error in his last 40 games.