Chicago White Sox: Three best contracts right now

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.