The Chicago White Sox have been phenomenal at signing their young players to contract extensions and it will pay off massively in the long run.
On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox inked Yoan Moncada, 24, to a five-year, $70 million contract extension with an option that could bring the deal to $90 million.
That was one of the many extensions signed within the last calendar year as the team has signed Luis Robert (22), Eloy Jimenez (23), and Aaron Bummer (26) in that span as well.
All of those decisions could pay off in the long run and in the short-term.
In the short term, these deals are phenomenal because they keep them cost-controlled without fear of payroll spikes through arbitration.
For Jimenez (eight years, $75 million) and Robert (six years, $50 million), both extensions were done with the goal of having them start their respective seasons with the club instead of going through the process of service-time manipulation.
As detailed by Matt Snyder of CBS Sports back in 2018, service time manipulation has been a serious issue that has gotten backlash around the league over the last few years and, for most of the league, is a problem going forward.
However, the White Sox have decided to take matters into their own hands when it comes to avoiding that and have, instead, chosen to take a different direction that is likely much more preferred by the players.
If every team in MLB was doing this, talks about a lockout when the CBA expires in 2021 would be much less rampant as service time manipulation has become a major issue as detailed by Bob Nightengale of USA Today in 2019.
Signing extensions like Moncada’s and Bummer’s (five years, $16 million) are great as well, more so for their long-term ramifications, because they are both taking on potential risk and reward.
For the player, he gets financial security, but also risks losing out on a lot of money if they perform. For the organization, they get a good player at a reasonable price if they stay productive, but the deal could also become a nightmare if the player underperforms or gets hurt.
If it works out, though, the team has a cost-controlled player for many years to come and doesn’t have to even think about future extension talks with their core player(s), which often stop teams from pursuing other potentially costly players that could help the team.
That could make it much easier for the White Sox to sign big free agents in the future as their budget will likely have little variance going forward with players already having set salaries.
The Chicago White Sox are innovators when it comes to giving extensions to younger players and everyone will see the benefits in the South Side soon enough.