One of the things the Chicago White Sox are good at is locking up young talent to long team-friendly deals.
One of the reasons the rebuild went so well is because most of the White Sox trade chips were under team control. Adam Eaton, Chris Sale, and Jose Quintana all had years of control when they were dealt which allowed Rick Hahn to jack up their prices.
On the current roster, Hahn has already signed Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, and Luis Robert to long-term deals. However, not everyone has received such a deal and others like Tim Anderson have deals that will expire in four years.
The White Sox must capitalize on their championship window while the band is still together. Once the sand slips through the hourglass and the time is up they are going to have to open their checkbooks to retain some of their talents.
If some of the White Sox budding young stars continue on the trajectory they are on then free agency could be very lucrative for them. Multiple players have the potential to shatter the franchise record for the richest contract.
The Chicago White Sox might be ready to hand out a big-time contract.
Yasmani Grandal currently owns the richest contract in franchise history. He signed a four-year deal worth $73 million. It surpassed Jose Abreu’s six-year deal for $68 million that he signed before his rookie season in 2014 when he was coming over from Cuba.
Grandal’s contract is actually very team-friendly. While he is an excellent player he is not a superstar like some of his teammates have the potential to be. The White Sox are a very young team with many players still yet to hit their primes.
That record contract could be broken this offseason if the White Sox make some splashy acquisitions once the lockout ends. If they don’t, here are some players on the roster that could pass that mark down the road: