Sox sign Joe Crede to 1-Year $5.1 million deal

Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede agreed Thursday to a one-year, $5.1 million contract that allowed him to earn an additional $300,000 in performance bonuses. Crede, who played only 47 games last season before back surgery, was Chicago's last remaining arbitration-eligible player. He batted .216 with four homers and 22 RBIs last season.

Crede was a standout defensively and provided clutch hitting for the White Sox in 2005, when they won the World Series. As of now, the White Sox have two third basemen. Josh Fields was called up last season and batted .244 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs in 100 games.

Crede was placed on the disabled list June 6 with lower back inflammation and underwent surgery on June 12. He had a disk repair operation, known as a microdiscectomy. His bonuses under the new deal include $50,000 each for reaching 400, 425, 450, 475, 500 and 525 plate appearances. The agreement could be announced officially on Friday.

The Birmingham Barons announced Thursday the coaching staff for the team's 2008 season. First-year manager Carlos Subero is one of four first-year staff members in Birmingham, joining J.R. Perdew (pitching coach), Wes Clements (hitting coach), and Raymond Smith (strength and conditioning coach). Joe Geck (trainer) is the lone returner from last season.

Carlos Subero enters his first season with the White Sox organization as manager of Class AA Birmingham. He spent the 2006-07 seasons as manager of Class A Bakersfield (California League) and has gone 381-431 (.469) over seven years in the Texas farm system. A Venezuela native, the 35-year-old spent four seasons as a minor-league infielder in the early-1990s. He began his coaching career in 1999 with the Gulf Coast League Rangers before assuming the managerial duties the following season. He then skippered the Clinton LumberKings (Midwest League) for three seasons before leading Bakersfield for two.

Subero will be joined in the dugout by pitching coach J.R. Perdew, who will start his first season at the Double-A level. He begins his 12th season with the White Sox organization after having served for five years at Class-A Winston-Salem (Carolina League). A native of Frostburg, Md., Perdew graduated from Fort Hill High School in Cumberland, Md. Perdew attended Allegany (Md.) College and then George Mason University from 1986-87. He entered the major league draft following his junior season, but did not sign. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later received his masters in education from Frostburg (Md.) College. Before joining the White Sox organization, Perdew spent seven seasons at Allegany (Md.) College as the pitching coach, where his teams appeared in the Junior College World Series in five of his seven seasons.

Wes Clements begins his first year with the Barons as hitting coach after being a staff member in Winston-Salem last season. Clements, a native of Hawthorne, Calif., lettered in golf and basketball at Hawthorne High School, but didn't play baseball. He played at El Camino Junior College before transferring to the University of Arizona. While at Arizona, Clements was part of the 1980 NCAA National Championship team and was named a Sporting News All-American. Considered a top prospect, he played five seasons as a 1B/DH in the Houston Astros farm system before joining Milwaukee's organization in 1986. Clements hit 173 home runs with 664 RBI in his minor league career and retired from playing in 1990. Clements was head baseball coach for Calabasas (Calif.) High School for three years and previously worked as a hitting coach in the Brewers and Angels organizations.