Chicago White Sox: Three best contracts right now

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.