With all the investing in their up-and-coming talent, are the Chicago White Sox starting a new trend? Will it pay off when the time comes?
Another piece has been added to the puzzle. Well, maybe that’s not how it should be termed. The puzzle has already been pieced together if you’re in the Southside of Chicago.
If you’re the Chicago White Sox front office, this puzzle has been put together already on how the team is going to look for the next 5-10 years. It was further finished when the deal was made to extend Yoan Moncada for five years and 70 million dollars.
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So now let’s add this up: Between Moncada (five years, $70m), Eloy Jimenez (six years, $43m), Luis Robert (six years, $48m) and Aaron Bummer (five years, $16m), the White Sox have fully invested – at minimum – 177 million dollars in four guys who are now all covered through arbitration.
That doesn’t even include the likely contracts to come for Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Nick Madrigal, and Andrew Vaughn.
The White Sox have sent the message this offseason they are going for it with moves including signing Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and trading for Nomar Mazara. In addition to locking up their youthful talent, the White Sox are going to win now, and for several years beyond.
There are two different ways to look at the contracts they have given their pre-arbitration players: In terms of what it means for the performance from the team and how it can affect the future of contractual negotiations and the future of arbitration.