:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66449968/1207589668.jpg.0.jpg)
Ken Rosenthal had a scoop on Thursday, and it’s a biggie:
3B Yoan Moncada in agreement with #WhiteSox on five-year extension with a club option, sources tell The Athletic. Dollars not yet known. Would potentially buy out two free-agent years. If option is exercised, Moncada would hit open market after age 30 season.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 5, 2020
Moncada gets $70 million over five years, with a team option worth $20 million bringing the total outlay to $90 million. Even with the option year, $15 million per season AAV is ridiculously good value for the White Sox.
The extension, long rumored but first given any sort of legs by South Side Hit Pen’s James Fox, would keep Moncada in town through 2024 (2025 with the team option).
Rick Hahn and the White Sox have unveiled a certain strategy — extending players through their age-30 seasons — and that’s not a coincidence, despite all four major extensions (Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert, Aaron Bummer Moncada) being for young players.
Moncada enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, finishing in the AL Top 10 in offensive bWAR (5.2, ninth), batting average (.315, third), OPS (.915, 10th), adjusted OPS+ (141, sixth), offensive winning percentage (.702, sixth), putouts (120, second), assists (256, third), double plays (37, first), total zone runs (10, second) range factor per nine innings (3.09, first), range factor per game (2.91, second), and fielding percentage (.962, third).
Those defensive numbers alone could provide nearly enough value to make Moncada’s deal a fair way. Offensive production — potentially prodigious — could make the contract a huge win for this ascendant team.