9:00am: Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets that Bonifacio will earn $3MM in 2015, and the option is valued at $4MM with a $1MM buyout.
8:36am: Bonifacio’s contract also contains a club option for the 2016 season, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
8:08am: The White Sox and utility man Emilio Bonifacio have agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Bonifacio, a client of agent Gene Mato, will give the White Sox another option at second base following the trade of Marcus Semien to Oakland. Currently, Micah Johnson and Carlos Sanchez figure to battle for that spot, though the 29-year-old Bonifacio could conceivably land the gig outright if Chicago would like its pair of prospects to gather additional playing time in the minors before seeing regular big league at-bats.
If Johnson or Sanchez is the preferred choice out of Spring Training, the Sox will have a highly versatile utility player on their hands in Bonifacio at a reasonable price for someone that can handle a wide array of positions. The switch-hitting Bonifacio played second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions between the Cubs and Braves last season, batting .259/.305/.345 with 26 steals in 426 plate appearances along the way.
The addition of Bonifacio continues a busy offseason for White Sox GM Rick Hahn and his staff. The South Siders have already added free agents Melky Cabrera, David Robertson, Adam LaRoche and Zach Duke in addition to swinging a trade for former A’s/Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija. That’s $132MM in free agent spending, and if MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s $9.5MM projection for Samardzija holds true, it’ll total out to $141.5MM in total spending — $53MM of which will be on the books for the 2015 season. Beyond that, the ChiSox have added a number of notable names on minor league contracts this season, including veteran righty Brad Penny, outfielder Tony Campana and catcher George Kottaras.
