The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Tim Beckham, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The Wasserman client will receive a $1.35MM base salary in 2021 if he makes the roster.
Technically teams are still in the period of exclusive negotiations with their own free agents, but Beckham was unsigned for the 2020 season and thus free to negotiate with any club. He was hit with an 80-game PED suspension back in Aug. 2019. He’s already served a portion of that ban but will presumably still need to serve the remainder before he’s eligible to suit up for a big league club.
Beckham was the No. 1 overall pick of the Rays in the 2008 draft, and while he has had his moments since then,it has largely been a disappointing career. Now 30 years old, Beckham has combined for a .249/.302/.431 with 63 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 1,751 trips to the plate with the Rays, Orioles and Mariners. During his most recent action, he batted a similar .237/.293/.461 and smacked 15 HRs across 328 PA.
Defensively, Beckham has seen plenty of action all over the infield and even some in the corner outfield. So, if he does make the White Sox, Beckham could serve as insurance behind the likes of Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Nick Madrigal and Eloy Jimenez.