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2013 Contract Issues: Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (2)

• A.J. Pierzynski - Pierzynski continues to provide offense and durability at the game's most demanding position. Remarkably, he has averaged more than 130 games per season since becoming an MLB regular in 2001. He'd be hard to replace, but he's 35 and will slow down at some point. I don't expect the White Sox to make him a qualifying offer and risk a salary of $12MM-plus.
• Will Ohman - Ohman has struggled through his first 18 appearances of the 2012 season, so the 34-year-old's stock is falling. Plus, the White Sox already have left-handers Matt Thornton and Hector Santiago in their projected 2013 bullpen. 

Contract Options (3)

• Gavin Floyd: $9.5MM club option. It will probably make sense for the White Sox to pick up the option and obtain the rights to the durable right-hander's age-30 season.
• Jake Peavy: $22MM club option with a $4MM buyout. Peavy has pitched tremendously this year, but a net cost of $18MM for someone with Peavy's injury history seems all too risky. The White Sox could trade Peavy and avoid the option decision altogether if they fall out of contention. If they keep Peavy and decline his option, they could still re-sign him at a lower average annual value.
• Kosuke Fukudome: $3.5MM club option with a $500K buyout. At this point it's hard to envision the White Sox picking up the option.

Arbitration Eligible (4)

• First time: Philip Humber, Gordon Beckham, Brent Lillibridge, Alejandro De Aza

The White Sox will have four arbitration eligible players next offseason, all of them first-timers. This entire class will cost less than $10MM to retain, making it one of the smallest and most affordable groups around.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The White Sox have committed approximately $79MM to next year's team, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf typically spends $95MM-plus on payroll, and the tab has exceeded $100MM in five of the past seven seasons.

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