Gregor: Sox giving Anderson another shot

Brian Anderson is … back with the White Sox?

Well, not quite, but the club's 2003 first-round draft pick is close enough to be satisfied.

"I'm more excited to sign right now than I was when I got drafted in the first round," Anderson told MLB.com on Wednesday.

Anderson should be excited after inking a minor league deal with the Sox. At age 32, he has been away from the major-league game since 2011, when he was in the Yankees' organization - as a pitcher.

A career .227 hitter in 355 games with the White Sox and Boston Red Sox, Anderson gave pitching a try in the Kansas City Royals' system in 2010, but he never panned out.

He pitched in five games with the independent Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League in 2012 and has been out of baseball the last two seasons.

Always offbeat and outgoing, Anderson was at U.S. Cellular Field in September for former teammate Paul Konerko's retirement ceremony.

"I was in the outfield one time and I thought there was one out and I caught the ball and I was pointing to the fans," said Anderson, who played for the White Sox at times from 2005-09. "I showboated a wee bit. And (Konerko) just undressed me in the dugout, let me have it.

I was like 'Holy cow, that's the first time he's ever yelled at me,' and no more than five minutes later he came up and put his arm around me and said, 'I love you kid. I'm just messing with you.' That cracks me up because I knew he couldn't stay mad at me, so inside I was laughing the whole time."

Anderson did not receive an invite to the White Sox' major-league camp this spring, so he'll have to show he can play and try winning a minor league outfield spot.

"So grateful just to have my foot in the door," Anderson said on his Twitter account. "Thank you @whitesox for the opportunity and fans for ur support."

Follow Scot on Twitter @scotgregor