Chicago White Sox: Three best contracts right now
The Chicago White Sox have been among the best at signing good-value contracts and there are three, in particular, that stand out.
GM Rick Hahn has done a phenomenal job building a strong Chicago White Sox roster.
However, that wasn’t just built in one offseason, as he’s made some phenomenal moves and signings prior to this past year that set the organization up for long-term success.
Under Hahn’s leadership, the Chicago White Sox have been particularly smart about signing players to extensions early on in their careers which has and will continue to save the team money.
Because of these types of contracts, the White Sox are set to have a lot more money available to them down the road than they would have if they had simply waited for these players to hit the open market.
While his contract could end up being the best of this group in the end, Luis Robert‘s extension will not be ranked in my top three contracts given he has not played a day in the major leagues yet and it would be unfair to put him ahead of established major leaguers because of that.
Here is my list of the three best contracts signed by the Chicago White Sox under Rick Hahn.
1. Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson is the first player on this list because of how cheap his deal is.
The shortstop signed a six-year, $25 million contract with two club options back in 2017 that could potentially keep him in the South Side through the 2024 season (Spotrac).
Anderson’s club options are pretty phenomenal value too as they are worth $12.5 and $14 million, respectively.
If the 26-year-old shortstop can continue to produce at the level he did in 2019, this would not just be one of the best contracts on the roster, but one of the best in the sport.
In 2019, Anderson led the league in batting average (.335) and registered 18 home runs, 56 RBI, 17 stolen bases, and a 130 wRC+ to give himself a 3.5 fWAR (FanGraphs).
Defensively, Anderson still has some work to do after finishing with -12 DRS and a -9.1 UZR this past season, but there’s no reason to believe that he can’t improve at his age.
While it’s always possible the right-handed hitter could fall backward and have the 86 wRC+ he registered in 2018 going forward, he would even still be worth his current salary at that price.
In 2020, Anderson is still only set to make $4 million, which is definitely worth it for even the 2.0 fWAR player he was in 2018.
The only salary guarantees that might look ridiculous for Anderson at that level of production are the ones for his two club option years, which could simply be declined.
Of course, the hope and expectation of Anderson going forward is that he will continue to make that contract look like one of the biggest steals and best values in baseball.
2. Yoan Moncada
The Chicago White Sox’s most recent contract extension comes next on the list in Yoan Moncada, who signed a five-year, $70 million deal with a club option for the 2025 season (Spotrac).
As I detailed in a previously written article on this deal, Moncada’s new contract could end up having tremendous value if he builds upon his incredible 2019 season to become one of the top stars in MLB.
In 2019, Moncada had a breakout season in which he hit .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs, 79 RBI, and a 141 wRC+ to give himself a 5.7 fWAR (FanGraphs).
Last season was the first one in which Moncada played third base and he was much better there than at second base in 2018, registering -4 DRS and a 4.3 UZR at the hot corner as compared to -11 DRS and a -3.7 UZR at the keystone.
The 24-year-old hasn’t even entered his prime yet and has already established himself as one of the game’s elite talents.
This contract ensures the White Sox will now have him through his age 29 season and possibly through his age 30 season if they pick up the $25 million club option they will have at their disposal.
Knowing the price of Moncada long-term is a big deal for the organization as they can now shift their focus onto other needs over the long haul.
Had they waited a year or two longer, extension talks would have become more complicated and they might have had to worry about his salary fluctuating significantly from year-to-year through arbitration.
While Moncada’s deal isn’t crazy cheap like Anderson’s, his deal is still very valuable as he is on the brink of becoming a superstar.
3. Eloy Jimenez
Eloy Jimenez‘s deal signed prior to the 2018 regular season makes the list for a few key reasons.
The 23-year-old and the team agreed to this six-year, $43 million contract with two club options (Spotrac) before that season in order to give him a spot on the Opening Day roster as the organization wasn’t inclined to get involved with service-time manipulation.
Their decision to do this was somewhat rewarded in his first season as he had his fair share of growing pains, but also showed improvement over the course of the season.
Over his 122 games with the club, Jimenez hit .267/.315/.513 with 31 home runs, 79 RBI, and a 116 wRC+ (FanGraphs).
His well-publicized defensive issues (-11 DRS and a -5.1 UZR) were a concern throughout the season for Jimenez and brought down his overall value to a 1.9 fWAR.
The biggest plus of this contract for Jimenez, though, is that it allowed him to enter the 2020 season with a full year of major league experience under his belt.
Jimenez might have already gone through the majority of the growing pains he will experience early in his career, allowing this sophomore campaign to be a potential breakout season for him.
If the White Sox are going to contend in 2020, Jimenez is going to be a big part of that, and already having experience certainly doesn’t hurt.
The left fielder could become a star in this league next season and, if he does, that contract becomes an absolute steal for the Chicago White Sox going forward.
Next. Dylan Cease Needs A Breakout Season in 2020. dark
Rick Hahn has done something special with the Chicago White Sox by locking up much of his young core for the long haul and every team in MLB should be looking at them as an example of a well-run organization right now.