Yoan Moncada was viewed as a potential building block from the moment the White Sox acquired him, and he’s officially been elevated to that status. The White Sox on Friday announced that they’ve signed Moncada to a five-year, $70MM extension that runs through the 2024 season and includes a club option for the 2025 season.
The White Sox, one of the only teams in baseball that discloses financial terms, announced the breakdown of the contract: a $4MM signing bonus, $1MM in 2020, $6MM in 2021, $13MM in 2022, $17MM in 2023 and $24MM in 2024. The $25MM option for 2025 comes with a $5MM buyout. Moncada is represented by the Movement Management Group.
Of players who signed extensions when they had between two and three years of Major League service time, only Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, and Buster Posey received a higher annual average value than the $14MM Moncada will earn over the next five seasons. In a recent look at what a possible Moncada extension could cost, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd set Bregman’s deal (a five-year, $100MM extension from last spring) as a possible comp, and Moncada will fall short of that dollar figure even if his 2025 option is exercised. That said, Bregman was also more established at the big league level and his deal didn’t cover his remaining pre-arbitration season.
Reports surfaced last week about negotiations between the two sides, and the agreement makes Moncada the latest member of Chicago’s young core to ink a long-term deal. The White Sox have signed Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Aaron Bummer to extensions within the last year, and also extended veteran leader Jose Abreu through the 2022 season after Abreu initially accepted the team’s qualifying offer last fall. Between these extensions and the offseason acquisitions of Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion, Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, and Nomar Mazara, the Sox are clearly ready to put their rebuild behind them as they pursue (at the very least) their first winning season since 2012.
Moncada became one of the cornerstones of that rebuild process when he was acquired as part of the four-prospect package the White Sox received from the Red Sox for Chris Sale in December 2016. At the time of the deal, many considered Moncada to be arguably baseball’s top prospect, and he showed glimpses of that potential during two decent but inconsistent seasons with the White Sox in 2017-18. Last year, however, Moncada broke out to hit .,315/.367/.548 with 25 homers over 559 plate appearance, while also displaying some solid third base defense in the opinion of the Statcast (+5 infield outs above average) and UZR/150 (+4.9) metrics.
It wasn’t all good news for Moncada in 2019, as he posted the lowest walk rate (7.2%) of his three seasons in Chicago and also benefited from a .406 BABIP. While Moncada’s strong baserunning will tend to give him a higher BABIP than most players, a .406 mark (over 100 points above average) indicates some level of good fortune. Still, there’s an awful lot to like from Moncada’s performance, especially for a player who doesn’t turn 25 until May.
2020 was Moncada’s final pre-arbitration season, so his extension will cover that pre-arb year, his three arbitration seasons, and at least his first free agent season. If the White Sox exercise the 2025 option, Moncada will be eligible for free agency as he enters his age-31 season, so there’s still an opportunity at another big payday beyond this contract. It should be noted that Moncada already gained financial security before appearing even in the minor leagues, as he received a $31.5MM bonus upon signing with the Red Sox as an international free agent in February 2015.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the agreement (Twitter link). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the financial terms. Rosenthal, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each tweeted additional financial details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Good for the White Sox. One team going in the right direction. Oh yeah Manfred needs to go!
Sox have bright future. Their front office is cooking good last few years. What changed?
I wish the Cleveland Indians could extend Francisco Lindor and surprise us all with the contract extension. He should receive the contract that he deserves. By the way, good for Moncada.
They had 3 of the biggest trade assets in MLB.
Drafting and player development have continued to lag behind successful teams.
Until it translates to wins, nothing’s changed.
Says the Twinks fan.
What have the Sox won? Nothing… Twins have been to postseason recently.. Sox havent done anything other then spend money. That is no guarantee to provide a winner.
Sox wont win jack without pitching. Overpaying for retreads isnt the way to go.
The Twins literally made it to the postseason last year without pitching, so that proves it can be done. Also, the Sox do have pitching.
“The Twins literally made it to the postseason last year without pitching”
The Twins had the 3rd highest pitcher WAR in the majors last year behind only Tampa and the Dodgers.
Not suggesting Twins really had the 3rd best staff, but saying they had nothing is way off.
Shows you how useful WAR stats are. Their pitching was junk. The Yankees had a field day with that weak rotation in the playoffs, and they’ll do it again this year too.
Twins haven’t won anything in almost 30 years. hahaha A decent percentage of people reading this were either not born or too young to even remember 1991.
To be fair Twins have gotten to the postseason and left just as quickly as they got there. Until they get to an ALCS, that statement has no credibility. Secondly, Sox this year was going to be the year they absolutely contend. They will compete, but 2021 is their target. The rotation will have a strong 3 with Giolito, Kopech, and Keuchel. Back end of the rotation has some veterans to eat innings. Eventually they can add an arm via trade market mid season or pluck a free agent next year to solidify. The rotation won’t be amazing but will be better than last year by light years.
One series against the Yankees doesn’t determine the quality of a staff.
Did you watch every inning of Twins pitching and every inning of every other staff, because the WAR system did, so maybe just maybe it’s you who is wrong and not the stat. You don’t win over 100 games with junk.
Not too sure about Kopech breaking camp with the team right away. There’s really only one veteran in Gio Gonzalez for the back end of the rotation. The other two spots will go to Cease and Lopez who are expected to each take big steps forward this year.
Teufelshunde4, the guy who cheers for a Twins team that signed Rich “Over The” Hill, Homer “Off Me” Bailey, and a Kenta Maeda. I would call them re-treads but at the very least a re-tread tire has some rubber left. The wheels fell off those 3 guys a long time ago. Average age of pitching staff is way in the WSox favor. The Twinkies better do something soon.
You can absolutely win 100 games with a junk staff. The twins played in the worst division in baseball and ate them up. You cant just leave out the fact they beat up on the royals tigers and white sox last year. The white Sox have a good chance to take at least 2nd in the division this year because that division is still horrid
Rick Hahn was given the green light, basically. The team approach changed from trying to plug holes and essentially catch lightning in a bottle to a total tear down and rebuild
JR not getting any younger.
Bulls no good.
Wants to see another White Sox WS Championship!
Finally
Gave up a lot to get him. Glad he’s going to be around for awhile!!
As a baseball fan, I’m glad he turned into the stud he was hyped to be
White Sox could be fun in a couple years. That pitching needs time and maybe another big arm. But good on the FO trying to build a winner
A couple years? Nah, they’re going for it now and for the next couple years. Their window starts now, but the window SHOULD be longer than most, given how young everyone is and the extensions. They can win now, central division is open. 2-3 team race
Given that top FA are getting 35M+ a year, his FA years have to be at least 20M right?
Just read it’s for $70 mil
Commonsense posted what he did before those figures were posted.
I would guess something close to but below the Bregman deal.
Had his coming out party last year. Talent for days. He’s gonna be a good one.
How many years of control did the white sox have before the deal? How many FA years did they get?
I think they bought out one year of FA, and the option gives them another year.
The White Sox got two FA years with this deal if choose to exercise the team option.
Only 3 years left. This deal adds 2 more years plus a club option in 2025.
not enough. Hopefully sox pushed for an 8 year deal with options and settled for this short deal
Now that I see all the details, I was wrong and you are correct. He would have been a free agent after the 2023 season and now is under team control up through the 2026 season.
Great deal for each
How many of these micro contracts have the White Sox given out now? They have covered a loooooot of arbitration years and in Mocada’s case 1 free agent year with that club option. If there is a White Sox fan out, have the other micro contracts done the same?
If you think arbitration hasn’t gotten expensive just look at Betts and Bryant. Of course, these contracts the White Sox are creating aren’t without risk.
Obviously to get to Bryant money in arb you have to be really good and in Betts case, top 10 production really good. The White Sox must really believe in these players to think their arbitration costs will be more expensive than the contracts their young players are signing.
No criticism here though. I respect the White Sox FO betting on their rebuild like this. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.
Tim Anderson’s deal covered a year or two of FA, if memory serves. Robert’s and Eloy’s deals both have options for the first two years of FA. So yeah, the Sox do look to get into the free agency years with options.
As for the bet, yeah, it’s a risk, but the alternative is if these guys do work out, you run into the Cubs’ or Astros’ situation: being limited in your potential upgrades or having to let star players leave because you can no longer afford them. If they bust, it’s some money sunk, but they could just tank and try again. If they hit their potential, the Sox have lengthened their window and given themselves flexibility to add more during these players’ primes. I love the moves.
Jimenez and Robert weren’t horribly underpaid with their extensions. It allowed the White Sox to drop their AAV towards their last arbitration seasons and log them in for 7-8 million a year, per the cap.
It’s also about cost certainty. With a looming CBA fight coming, who knows what young stars will be paid in the near future.
What Sox are committing to the players on the roster/in the system that they believe in (sad trombone Madrigal). Ultimately they will need better pitching and a better manager, imo. Expectations to be moderately competitive start this season.
I think they just don’t know how Madrgials unique approach is going to play out in the bigs. There hasn’t really been anyone like him where he won’t hit a lot of homers but he also won’t strikeout and just puts the ball in play all the time.
I don’t envision the White Sox extending Madrigal anytime soon. I expect that the FO projects his floor as a league average MLB starter. I also expect that with his low isolated power and poor exit velocity numbers they view his ceiling as limited. That can change with maturity, strength, development and time.
Fortunately, the White Sox front office appears to put a greater value on some traditional and intangible baseball attributes in addition to incorporating more advanced analytic ideology into their philosophy of evaluating players. They exhibited this with Jose Abreu with his valued mentoring skills and clubhouse leadership in addition to his power bat at 1B.
I suspect the White Sox will also value Nick Madrigal for his overall talent skills and not just rely on advanced analytics like launch angle and exit velocity which spit in the face of his game as a traditional 2-hole hitter. Madrigal possesses unequalled contact bat skills that actually saw a rise in his already plus hit tool of 60 coming out of Oregon State University to a grade of 70 after his first 705 professional PA’s that resulted in a mere 21 SO’s to pair with his 51 BB’s.
Madrigal also sports Gold Glove caliber defense that saw him commit only 5 errors at 2B so far as a young professional. He also has a plus run tool that has already translated into 43 SB’s in his first 163 games as a pro along with a baseball IQ that is said to be “off the charts” by many scouts and pundits aside from Keith Law. lol
I see Madrigal as an immediate impact replacement for 2019 Gold Glove 2B Yolmer Sanchez, one who can also bat .300, steal 20+ bases, draw far more walks and rarely ever strikeout. Were not talking Darwin Barney here, rather a 2B more akin to former White Sox HOF’er Nellie Fox or Cardinal #2 grunt Tom Herr. I’m also hoping that Madrigal won’t resort to cheating in order to increase his SLG like Jose Altuve or PED’s that have been rumored to help another diminutive 2B, Dustin Pedroia.
Bill Smith, I respectfully disagree. Saps has got the bulk of the argument already but I’d like to add:
Madrigal knows the game he brings and is confident with what he’s got. Altuve light. He’s a smaller strike zone, speed demon with near superhuman pitch recognition and timing. It doesn’t matter if he’s not a power hitter. Everyone he plays with is watching his clock when he’s in the box. Huge dividends.
Chicago baseball analyst and White Sox TV color commentator Steve Stone said this about Nick Madrigal: He will be the White Sox best situational hitter going forward.
It seems many teams are prioritizing advanced analytic stats like launch angle and exit velocity. Fans are more enamored with the long ball these days. Teams that are best suited to win championships in October (aside from cheating) also need to do it with small ball, something Madrigal can do in spades with his bat to ball skills, ability to hit behind runners and smart base running.
Omar Infante? Placido Polanco?
Another Cub fan dissing on former manager Rick Renteria who never had an opportunity to manage a contending roster after his unfair dismissal in 2014 to make way for ‘Genius’ Joe Maddon. I can’t wait for Ricky to win the AL Manager of the Year Award in the next year or two along with garnering multiple World Series rings in Chicago beyond the one that Maddon ‘earned’ in 2016 despite his poor postseason performance as Cubs skipper.
Additionally, no Cub fan has a case when it comes to arguing over the development of quality pitchers for Chicago baseball teams. All this is coming from an unbiased fan of both teams since the early 1960’s.
LOL, just say that you think they suck and always will. That said, it’s just the opposite. Nick will be a stud when he comes up, Rick is the perfect man for the job right now, and the Sox will have the best pitching staff in baseball by 2022, which, is when this team will be real WS contenders, every year.
Massive bargain for Chicago, but also only an extra year of control, so a good deal for Moncada too. More about cost control and predictability than anything it seems.
Two years with the option
White Sox’s are going to be elite soon. But to the fans that expect something this year, it will be disappointing. Next year is when the you guys could make some noise
Never say never! The White Sox could duplicate the success of the 2015 Cubs who reached the postseason a year sooner than most pundits expected by getting solid production from much of their young talent along with help from veteran free agent starting pitcher Jon Lester and trade acquisition Dexter Fowler. The White Sox had a far busier offseason adding veteran talent than the Cubs did back in 2014/2015.
A successful 2020 season would also be redeeming payback for White Sox manager Rick Renteria who was replaced by the Cubs following their final rebuilding year of 2014 for a more experienced MLB manager in Joe Maddon.
You could be right. One thing for sure is that they have a lot of talent. I just think the talent will take one more year to become elite. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make WC or finish 3rd in division. But anything big I would say wait a year.
I’m old enough to remember what those 1969 NY Mets did to my Cubs down the stretch, on their way to a sweep of the Braves in the NLCS and a stunning 5 game World Series victory over a powerful Orioles club. They did it with a staff of mostly young pitchers that included two future HOF’ers, 24-year old Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver and 22-year old spot starter/reliever Nolan Ryan in addition to 26-year old SP’s Jerry Koosman, 22-year old Gary Gentry, 25-year old Jim McAndrew and 24-year old reliever Tug McGraw. Their lineup was pedestrian at best and far inferior to those of the Cubs, Braves and Orioles that were chock full of All-Stars and future HOF players.
You’re a Cubs fan?
@Big Hurt, I get that you’re talking to Aaron, but there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of both teams. I’m a White Sox fan first and a Cubs fan second (though a more distant second now than previously). I’ve never gotten all the hate between fans of the clubs. I make fun of Cubs homers on here sometimes, but in reality, I’m unhappy that their FO has pretty much lied to the fans about having no money and then proceeded to do nothing of note again this offseason after promising changes.
I’m 64 and have been a die-hard fan of both Chicago teams since the early 1960’s. I wasn’t born into an allegiance and followed both teams religiously when they were each on WGN-TV in Chicago. I’ve noted my bi-fandom often in the comment section of many articles here and elsewhere.
You’re probably right in that they won’t make the playoffs this year. However, the Twins improved by 20-odd games from 2018 to 2019. Such a jump is unlikely for the White Sox, but not entirely ridiculous, given their offseason upgrades, another year of development for their young guys, and promotions from the farm.
Agreed
If only the Mets followed the White Sox lead when it comes to extensions
So far, nobody has. No one has ever done what the White Sox are doing. The Sox arent the first to sign players to a contract like this but not with so many players.
Ha-ha! I just commented on this likelihood a few hours ago regarding an mlb.com article I shared with my friends on social media and elsewhere. You can now, “put it on the board…Yes!”
“Don’t stop now boys”. Lock up Lucas Giolito and Nick Madrigal asap while considering the same for Andrew Vaughn, Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech next offseason if their 2020 production warrants it.
Note: In addition to the core players already mentioned mentioned in this article, the White Sox also signed SS Tim Anderson to a long term contract extension a couple of years ago.
Madrigal has not played a game yet and likely won’t until mid to late April… so they will have him through 2025. Even if he is good he won’t hit for power, so he won’t command big arbitration dollars. No reason to do anything… if he exceeds expectations massively and it costs them a little bit, so be it… but if Madrigal is that good, wishing they signed him to an extension will probably mean they are in the postseason every year. As long as their guys are locked up through 2024 or 5, no need to extend. Giolito would be FA after 2023, so he is about the only guy they need to be concerned with extending.
There you go with the emphasis on power as if being a perennial .300+/.350+ BA/OBP hitter with a 5% SO rate, 20+ SB’s, and a Gold Glove at 2B means little to teams trying to compete for championships these days.
The White Sox didn’t have to lock up Eloy Jimenez or Luis Robert before making their MLB debuts either but they did it anyway, assuring both would be in their opening day lineups in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Jimenez has two plus/plus plus tools with his hitting and power, Robert has 5 with his overall game while Madrigal is in between with the added intangible of possessing a high baseball IQ. The White Sox also locked up Tim Anderson and Adam Eaton well before reaching their arbitration years and neither possessed Madrigal’s overall ability.
I’m guessing Madrigal will be the next White Sox core position player to receive a contract extension, be it this spring or before opening day in 2021 with Andrew Vaughn also in line for one next winter or spring. This will insure the White Sox have stability and cost certainty at every non-pitching field position for at least 3 years aside from RF which could be addressed internally or via free agency next offseason.
“There you go with the emphasis on power as if being a perennial .300+/.350+ BA/OBP hitter with a 5% SO rate, 20+ SB’s, and a Gold Glove at 2B means little to teams trying to compete for championships these days.”
That is what a lot of people are saying, but it’s not what he’s saying… All he’s doing is pointing out that power pays in arbitration, and since Madrigal doesn’t hit for power, arbitration will not be kind to him. It doesn’t mean he’s not valuable, it just means he doesn’t have a skillset that arbitration pays big money for. He’s absolutely right – under the current CBA…
EXACTLY! Thanks for clarifying (and for understanding what I wrote)…. I totally think Madrigal is valuable, only pointing out that there is no need to lock him up because there is little risk to having to pay him a lot in arb. I hope he is as great a fit for this team as possible… they already have him through 2025 and just don’t need to pay him now, clearly, that’s all. I enjoy discussing with people who actually read and listen.
Great work by the front office to lock down these young players!
Wow $70 Million. I wonder what Yankees will have to pay Gleyber.
about $150 million for 7 years.
Yeah, definitely at least that.
Just what we were waiting for.
great move and go Sox
Rick Hahn is one of the best. so glad the White Sox have him in charge. He is futuristic and understands today’s game.
Good move by the Sox.
Hope they can get Giolito next, on something like the Nola deal.
Did Reinsdorf secretly die and now he’s spreading his money out to the players finally?
Won’t know for sure until Betts is a FA.
I wouldn’t count on Betts, something tells me he will stay where he is. After being in the East for so long why would you go back to the Midwest? Hell I live here and I wouldn’t
$
The Dodgers let rental Machado leave. I doubt they’re willing to give Betts $350MM/8 to outbid the White Sox. I see him coming to Chicago for $320/8.
If the White Sox ‘spring’ for a free agent RF next offseason my money would be on George Springer over Mookie Betts. Springer will probably cost half of what Betts will and could also fill the leadoff role keeping Luis Robert’s high SLG, low BB bat further down in the lineup. The White Sox will also have the 2020 season to ascertain whether 24-year old Nomar Mazara can approach his lofty ceiling while they also continue to evaluating the MLB potential of a couple of their better RF prospects in Micker Adolfo and Luis Alexander Basabe at AA and AAA this coming year.
Agree 100 percent on Springer over Betts. (glad we agree on something!) Betts turned down 300/10 and wants over 400…. I don’t see the Sox getting into that kind of insanity. Springer totally clutch in postseason, would be more valuable for cheaper contract. Plus Keuchel might help lure him since was ex teammate.
Another possibility down the road if they don’t do much this offseason is Lindor. Mazara possibly gone after 2021 unless he succeeds… could move Tim Anderson to right where I’m sure he would be adequate quickly enough… plug in Lindor at SS. I don’t think TA will ever wind up Lindor’s equal in fielding… FL best in business defensively as far as I know. Might cost same as Betts though, who knows…. but that’s close to best team I could imagine them having if I could play God.
Uh, Springer cheated.
I was just thinking this. Not a Sox fan but I like what they’re doing. I know the NBA is different but wish the Bulls would follow suit.
Kiley McDaniel is with ESPN? Interesting.
Can’t wait for the season to get underway.
GO SOX!
I called it 6yr/90 million.
Actually, I went back to Jeff’s article and Rallyshirt nailed it. You went over but thanks for playing The Price is Right.
To be fair, you were close. Most posters wanted to give Yosn nine figures.
He could have easily gotten nine figures if the contract were longer (7 or 8 years).
Thanks @kyleschwarbersmom
I thought anything over 5 years for Moncada is just too risky financially to the organization. And less than 5 is pointless. It’s a good deal, and Moncada’s acceptance says both parties are happy he is in Chicago.
It also says he has a friendly contract if we get a very nice trade offer someday. Moncada is maturing very well both as a player and a businessman.
Just my opinion but I think this is closer to what what Ozzie Albie’s should have been paid.
Good for the White Sox. I like what they’re doing this season.
It’s good for the game I think.
For real lol good for us.
I think they learned from the Cubs and the problems the Astros are starting to face. Those cheap, young rosters get expensive in a hurry and now they have a lot of cost control on that for most of their core. The result will hopefully be a longer window.
I think the cubs front office got cocky in 2015-16 with that young core. As for all the Astros problems, they still lead all of baseball in steals in 2017 lol.
Sorry, couldn’t help it.
Hat tip to the White Sox and their continued march towards the top of the AL Central. It is getting downright disheartening being an Indians fan and watching the continuation of our strategic self-immolation. Oh well, we’ll get to speculate on what prospects we missed out on this winter by hanging onto Lindor into the season. I think we’re on our ways to a 3rd place finish in the AL Central.
Sox…
Man this sucks! That is speaking as a Tiger fan.
Woohoo! Now to try to extend Giolito. Wouldn’t mind a Madrigal extension (even if he doesn’t reach his ceiling, he has a pretty high floor), but want them to wait on Kopech and Cease to see if they can come back from injury and figure out this level, respectively.
Madrigal’s game is not one that leads to big arb payouts. He also doesn’t currently appear ready for the bigs. See no reason to extend him.
Completely agree on Giolito, if it’s no higher than 5 years and $45mil-.50mil.
Yeah, I don’t understand obsession with extending Madrigal. If you are competing this year, just call him up for opening day. This service time nonsense is tiring, and pretty dumb when you begin worrying about a player who may never post an OPS above 750.
Not an obsession, just think it’s a good idea. I realize his OPS, may never be that high, but his OBP should be and that would provide lots of opportunities for guys behind him. His floor is as a speedy, great defense guy with slightly below average OPS. Still a solid starter. I’m not for a second saying he should get near the money Robert and Eloy got, but having him for eight years as opposed to six and locking in cost certainty seems like a good gamble.
It’s not a good idea.
The difference in OPS between Madrigal and a Mendick last season was ten points.
With his approach, if he doesn’t hit well over 300, you ware looking at a average to below average hitter at the position.
There is no need to extend him until you know what he will be. Again, he can be extended in three or four years.
The only person negatively impacted by calling him up early is Jerry R.
It doesn’t make sense for a team who has paid tens of millions of guaranteed money to gain extra control of young players to give away a year of another one, especially his age 29 season, for three extra weeks of his age 23 rookie year. It may happen, but the fact they’ve worked on team control, and considering that they only obtained Mazara because Texas made that mistake and lost a year of control(traded three weeks of year 21 in exchange for whole age 27 season, wow then and wow now, and never sent him back down even after years of disappointing results), I just don’t see Madrigal starting with the big league team unless extended. I could very easily be mistaken though.
Good deal. I thought he could get more, but sound given his legs.
Also a good example of what can happen if you don’t hold a service time gun to a player’s head, and see if he can actually play first. They may actually end up playing less for him than Robert.
That’d be fair, considering I think Robert will end up the better player.
They did play service time games with Yoan. Got an extra year of control by waiting ’til July to first bring him to Chicago.
Not really. He was striking out 30 percent of the time against AAA pitching and still couldn’t hit LHP well.
In his case, they realized keeping him in AAA was useless, and gave him the reps in the majors.
Had they done the same with Eloy, maybe he would have gotten out his struggles earlier, or they could have made a decision earlier to possibly move him out of LF. And they still could have signed him to an extension.
BTW, I disagree about Moncada v. Robert. There are still some serious holes in Robert’s game at the plate.
And there are still some serious holes in Moncada’s game at the plate…
All of which he has improved, which is why he was fifth in batting last season.
I fully expect the walks to increase given hit batting eye and better control of the zone.
Another worthy gamble by the club. Hope they bring up Madrigal without extension day 1 mainly for defense, b/c the pitchers need that help. He can bat in the 9 hole to begin.
I’d like to see Nick Madrigal asap as well, extension or not. One of the White Sox achilles heels is their defense and they need to replace 2019 Gold Glove defender Yolmer Sanchez at 2B. Madrigal might not win a Gold Glove as a rookie but I’d bet his defensive metrics will approach or exceed those of Sanchez while his offensive skills are sure to be better.
Another deficiency the White Sox have is their low OBP/high SO rate on offense. Madrigal’s high contact bat should help with that problem as well, certainly as an upgrade over what Sanchez produced in 2019. Madrigal would also add another 20+ SB producer to a lineup that already features that potential with Tim Anderson, Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada.
I also don’t want to see the White Sox play musical chairs at 2B with a defensively challenged SS in Anderson who could benefit from some stability at the position. That said, I fear that the White Sox will roll with Leury Garcia and/or Danny Mendick to begin the 2020 season.
Service time need not be an issue with Madrigal. If he has problems adjusting at the MLB level the White Sox can always option him back to AAA and recoup any lost time from March or April. I’d also be willing to bet that once Madrigal does make his big league debut he will have more initial success than Anderson, Moncada, or Jimenez had with theirs. I also believe that Madrigal’s ability to put the ball in play will give him a leg up on Robert when it comes to producing higher BA and OBP numbers from the get-go.
I love what Hahn and the FO is doing. This team is building a chemistry that players want to be a part of. I like 70 million contracts not 300 million contracts that can disable your spending in future years.
After what we saw last year, I think Moncada might be one of the few Cubans to live up to the hype because he actually does have all the tools and has ability to play elite defense. It will be great to have Jose Abreu’s mentorship helping him emerge as a superstar, and he will call the other younger players along. Hopefully the White Sox make the central competitive.
This kids got a sweet left handed swing.
Good. After seeing Yelich get extended, I wasn’t sure if Yoan would even get extended this year, and if so, I didn’t think it would be under $100MM. I’m glad I was wrong.
I’m not sure Giolito will get extended this year. I think the brass wants to make sure he’s not a one year wonder. I’m guessing that’s probably going to be the way it will go with the Sox SP’s, wait to make sure they are the real deal for a couple seasons before extending them. I know, people are arguing Bummer’s potentially a one year wonder, but I guarantee Cease, Kopech, Lopez, and Giolito won’t sign a 5 yr/$16MM extension (otherwise it would’ve already been done).
I could see Madrigal getting extended before OD if it’s around TA’s money. I definitely can’t see it being more than half of Robert’s deal in money. And that assume he blows Hahn & Co. away before OD for them to even offer him a deal.
Great job White Sox! Who are the next 3 extended players?
Hopefully Giolito is one of them.
Lucas Giolito, Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn would be my picks, hopefully before opening day in 2021.
How about no one?
Giolito is still a major health risk.
And enough with extending every player because they are on the Top 100 list.
Madrigal could very well never have an OPS over 750, and Vaughn is a one-trick pony. If he can’t hit at his projection, he offers nothing in the field.
Like Moncada, let them play, then see if they are worthy of extending.
Though I don’t think anymore will get extended before OD (hopefully I’m wrong), I would actually like to see Lopez get extended this season (if not before OD). I think you can still get him cheap (not Bummer money, but much cheaper than the other SP’s once they get extended, if they do). He’s got good enough stuff to thrive in the back end of games (maybe even be a closer) if he doesn’t thrive as a SP, so I don’t think it would be a huge risk to extend him if you can do it very cheaply.
Madrigal still could get extended before ST, but he’ll have to catch fire these next couple weeks for it to happen.
I’d like to see Giolito get extended, but I wonder if Hahn will wait until next year to make sure he isn’t a one year wonder.
I’d like to see Cease, Kopech, and Vaughn eventually get extended, but it’s too early for extensions this year.
So, if you’re just skimming the replies:
1) Lopez
2) Giolito
3) Madrigal
Not saying it will happen in this order (or at all), but these would be my next 3 picks.
James McCann, Reynaldo Lopez and either a one-year extension on Encarnacion next year or long on Giolito.
McCann is important as our pitching staff is still developing. Grandal has his hands completely full with a new team, new pitchers and playing in a new league. James McCann is the quiet giant right now, continuing his work to help lessen the load on Grandal’s transition, and the two are also working heavily with Zach Collins. Any energy left over, which there probably isn’t much, goes to Seby Zevala and Yermin Mercedes. Collins is the likely #3 at this point. Without a lot more development from Yermin behind the plate I think he could be a DH sooner or a 3rd backup catcher for the major club later, maybe two years out. McCann should be extended through 2021 and 2022 for backup money. I think he’ll take it over starting all over somewhere else. This seems to effect Collins, but I think we’ll see Collins quite a bit in 2020, if not as the 26th man.
Reynaldo Lopez can be extended now for a reasonable price. He’s not going to find a better environment to grow with two all star catchers calling games. And he’s smiling a lot lately, he’s fitting in much better now than he was last year. I think he’s happy. It’s a good idea to get him soon to sign longer term because he looks ready to step it up. If not during the season, definitely next year.
If Edwin is happy and producing well in Chicago, why not keep him yet another year?
Giolito seems to be the popular target. I don’t think he extends now and he’s going to be expensive next season too, so we just have to live with it and try hard to find a deal.
I think most people are missing the BIIIIG PICTURE with these deals. It’s the AAVs. Even in like 5 years the AAV hit for Moncada, Eloy, Robert etc is gonna be ridiculously low. That will allow them to supplement this huge core with top FAs like Betts etc.
The white Sox are writing a book thats never been written before and will be read by all. The 2020s are theirs
AAV only matters if you’re bumping up against the cap. Not something the Sox will ever have to worry about.
The Twins won’t ever see a salary cap either. Even worse, expect to see the Twins close up shop and sell off assets in a few years. Then they’ll go away and hide for a decade like they always do.
It cracks me up how in your head I am.
Especially when you are a die-hard White Sox fan and not a Twinkie supporter. His being in your head is just ” crazy bananapants”!
Wow the Whitesox will be the toast of Chicago for many years to come. Great times are coming for all you Whitesox fans. I’m sure you will get your revenge for all the smack us Cubs fans have been talking
Hoping for your and our sake the Cubs remain contenders when the White Sox window opens. Very rarely are both teams in contention at the same time (exception of 2008, and maybe a few weeks in 77- heh). Two contenders in summer would be special considering how dismal the winter tenants have become.
To top it all off, Mazara absolutely KONGED one today.
I watched… called it actually. I saw his 2019 highlights… most of his homers were beastly, to all fields. Like if he makes a couple positive adjustments, he could hit 35 easily… power there for sure.
Not impressed with Mazara at all. Dude strikes out looking way to often. No confidence at the plate.
I’ve seen just about every at-bat he has taken this spring, and I could’t disagree more. He looks more confident at the plate than just about anyone on the team, and he has shown an ability to work at-bats. If he shows up in the regular season like he has this spring, this will go down as an excellent trade for the Sox.
I agree. My biggest concern is not with the bat of Nomar Mazara. His defense in RF is what worries me, especially the impact it might have on rookie CF Luis Robert who also has to deal with defensively challenged Eloy Jimenez in LF. Adam Engel might help as a defensive replacement late in games or as the lesser side platoon option with Mazara in RF but the White Sox outfield defense could be a major problem in 2020.
It will be a problem, but I think it’s blown out of proportion a little. Castellanos was abysmal his first year as an OF and progressed to merely bad, improving his DRS by 10 in one year. Mazara is a better fielder than Castellanos and Eloy has been said to be working hard on his defense. With above-average sprint speed, I wouldn’t be surprised if he improved his DRS significantly. They won’t be good as a unit, but I think it falls short of “major problem.”
Wake me up when they aren’t hitting against guys throwing fastballs and pitches they are developing.
I’d rather let you sleep. You seem a little cranky.
Anything else you feel like whining about in the meantime?
Pointing out that ST stats are pretty meaningless is not whining.
Complaining that people aren’t taking ST stats and performance seriously, or that they are expressing doubt in a mediocre player . . . that is whining.
Who said anything about spring training stats?
Approach =/= stats
And Spring Training is still Spring Training, and you are still whining that people aren’t taking practices games seriously.
Where did I whine? Was it when I simply pointed out that the guy who has struck out 3 times all spring hasn’t struck out looking “way too often,” or was it when I said he looks confident at the plate? You realize I was responding to someone who clearly made an observation off seeing a couple at bats, right?
As for your “it’s just spring training” attitude, hitters are working on things too. The stats aren’t important, the process is. Moncada came into 2019 spring training swinging early and often after being way too passive in a bad 2018, and he brought that into the season and absolutely killed it. That’s an APPROACH change that led to real results.
Go find something else to complain about. Maybe you can tell me more about how ba Andrew Vaughn will be if he doesn’t hit as well as everyone in the world thinks he will hit. That’s at least a new one from you.
How well is everyone in the world saying Vaughn will hit? Do you have a comp you’re comfortable sharing?
Not to be pedantic, and youdid share the fact that Mazara is being patient. Bot looking “confident” to a guy in his lliving roo is not something svouts would put under “approach”.
“How well is everyone in the world saying Vaughn will hit?”
Extremely well.
FanGraphs:
“The best present hit/power combo in the 2019 draft, the industry is very confident he’ll hit.”
“Vaughn has a very selective approach, letting strikes he can’t drive pass him by unless he has to put a ball in play, a skill I compared before the draft to Paul Konerko’s (I mentioned this to a Special Assistant who scoffed and said he thought Vaughn was way better). He has a very athletic swing despite being decidedly unathletic in every other way, enabling all fields power and high rates of contact. There’s no margin for error for right-handed hitting first baseman, but if there’s one prospect to be confident in hitting as much as is necessary to profile at first, it’s someone with this combination of visual evaluation and statistical track record. Vaughn’s post-draft TrackMan data is also supportive, and suggests he could be a .300/.400/.500 hitter.”
MLB.com:
“Vaughn keeps things simple at the plate, allowing his natural hitting ability and natural power to take over rather than trying to do too much. He has a pretty right-handed swing with no holes as well as considerable bat speed and strength. With his all-fields approach and refusal to chase pitches out of the strike zone, he projects as a .300 hitter with 30 homers and 80 walks on an annual basis. Most of Vaughn’s value will come from his bat, but his bat will provide plenty of value.”
I could keep going, but honestly it’d be a waste of time. Everyone knows he’s going to hit if healthy. If you can show me any scouting reports that question his ability at the plate, I would love to see them.
“Do you have a comp you’re comfortable sharing?”
Nope. Not many scouts do “comps” for baseball players. Personally, I think he ends up very similar to Paul Goldschmidt.
“Not to be pedantic, and youdid share the fact that Mazara is being patient. Bot looking “confident” to a guy in his lliving roo is not something svouts would put under “approach”.”
Ok… I’m not really sure what a scout has to do with any of this. That’s just my observation/opinion, and it was posted in response to someone saying he doesn’t look confident because he strikes out looking too much, which he has only done twice this spring. I also don’t think a scout would say, “This guy lacks confidence because he strikes out looking too much,” unless he was doing it an alarming rate like Moncada in 2018 (he’s not). He has shown a willingness to go deep in counts and look for pitches he can drive. That is an “approach,” and it leads ME to believe that he’s confident in himself at the plate.
Again, this is just my opinion based on what I have seen so far. I understand it’s a limited sample and only spring training, hence the reason I said I think this would be a great trade IF he carries this approach into the season. IF he does (and assuming they use him correctly), I think he will have a good season. If I wanted to use spring training stats, my comment would’ve been a lot more definitive than that.
I’m comfortable with my player evaluation. You don’t have to believe me; that’s your choice.
How many times has outfield defense been the difference between making the postseason or not? Has it ever? I will go out on a limb and say it will have nothing to do with whether people are happy or unhappy with the results this season, or what they will look to improve going into next year. If the pitching and hitting are there, or not… that will be what matters. There are plenty of mediocre defensive outfielders in MLB, and Eloy and Mazara are not bad enough to worry about. And it doesn’t make for super interesting topic of discussion to focus on how they are not perfect baseball players, when Eloy may wind up best LF in MLB because his hitting crushes any defensive shortcomings. If he hits 45 homers, is anyone going to focus on how he missed a few plays? That’s how to watch baseball and not enjoy a season.
jhomeslice,
I bet it’s happened. If two teams ended a game apart and in one of the games they played each other, there was a costly outfield error, that could be the difference. Or it could have happened twice in the regular season that an outfielder misplayed a ball and it led to a big inning that cost them the game. It’s difficult to pinpoint it and there are certainly other factors involved, but it would certainly help to have better defense in LF and RF.
Truth regarding the few players that choose to negotiate before they are eligible for Free Agency.
The truth is guys like Boras tell them to wait and do what Mookie is doing–buy insurance on yourself then you will get more @ FA. Moncada was smart “a bird in the hand …’
I’d like to have my $14-20 M now vs wait 6 years. There’s more he can do for his family and himself now. He will be promoted from this point on as the face of the White Sox.
Congrats Mr. Moncada I wish you much success and much success. to the WSox from a RSox fan.
Everything is coming up Milhouse!
I have a feeling that many Cubs’ fans are going to convert back to White Sox fans where they are be showing up to White Sox home games this year and beyond!
Do you really believe that? Honest question btw.
Well, a few people I have known over the years were die hard Sox fans and suddenly jumped on the Cubs’ bandwagon in 2015. It’s Chicago! Many fans jump on bandwagons whenever teams start doing well!
Quiet frankly, I know a lot of Cubs’ fans from where I live (south side of Chicago) to working downtown who all enjoy going to Sox games since it’s not expensive as it is going to Cubs’ games at Wrigley to better food and beer. You can knock the area by Comiskey (yes I still call it Comiskey since I grew up and still live here) but it’s a great area. It’s not like Wrigleyville with all of the bars and nonsense but Comiskey is great place for a baseball game especially for children.
Most importantly, this new tv deal the Cubs have right now is pissing off a lot of long time Cubs’ fans who grew up watching Cubs’ games for free over the years on WGN. Give Reinsdorf credit for doing a local tv deal with NBC sports with airing Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games. Many bars are not willing to pay the price to air Cubs’ games due to the cost.
Pardon my ignorance, please…
Is there any difference between “a $4MM signing bonus, $1MM in 2020” and “5MM in 2020?”
I believe the signing bonus is apportioned out over the life of the contract for luxury tax purposes. For a one-year deal, I don’t think there’s a difference.
Luxury tax is calculated using the AAV of the full contract. Signing bonus has no impact on that.
Larger signing bonuses technically make the present day value of a contract slightly higher, due to inflation.
Players would always prefer $ in the pocket now.
Teams can use it to disperse payroll burdens, thereby muting bigger spikes in commitmets in future years.
The great part of this for the White Sox is that they now have multiple players to build around for years to come rather than just one.
Pitching wise, there’s still a lot of control over the young guys — should be a fun few years for W. Sox fans.
One pitcher Sox fans should watch in their farm system is Konnor Pinklington. Give this kid another a year or two in the minor leagues and watch him flourish in the MLB as a starter.
I don’t necessarily mind all these extensions, but my one concern is if these kids get complacent because they already got a good amount of money. Already getting paid takes the hungriness out of people.
If anyone starts slacking Grandal will be all over their a** in 5 seconds.
I would say Abreu if anyone
Abreu is a great leader type, working with young guys and the cultural acclimations. He helps players remember their roots and step up to become good men.
But Grandal, I think we’re going to see a natural power shift this year. He’s not taking the captain role away, but he does have the will to be a very effective leader, especially when it comes to enforcing some toughness. I think Ricky can see this. Grandal is needed for his personality and leadership perhaps even more than his stats. Last year, McCann stepped-up into leadership but it wasn’t enough (not his fault); the team was complicated in 2019. In 2020, Grandal has it covered in spades.
With everything that’s happened this off-season I am still finding more and more reasons to love the Grandal signing.
These Cuban players love the game of baseball and want to win. It’s not like the Sox gave Moncada a deal like Harper, Machado and Trout or even Cole have right now. People forget that Moncada already has $31 million before swinging a bat in the MLB.
Essentially the Sox bought one year of Moncada’s free agency for 27 million or two years of his free agency for 47 million.
IF he keeps hitting and his defense improves that could be a nice bargain.
Regardless of how their season turns out, they definitely should be one of the most improved teams.