This is precisely the time of year when extensions begin to trickle out around baseball (remember how crazy it was last spring?), and we like to cover as many as possible to get a good sense of the market as we await (and hope for) extensions for several members of our beloved Chicago Cubs. (Sigh … one day.)
The latest: Yoan Moncada and the White Sox …
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, 24, initially signed with the Red Sox back in 2015 for a hefty $31.5M bonus (the rules for international free agents were drastically different back then), and debuted for them in 2016. After making his way to the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade and getting off to a relatively slow start offensively here in Chicago, he finally exploded with the bat last season:
2017 (54 games): 105 wRC+
2018 (149 games): 97 wRC+
2019 (132 games): 141 wRC+
And so the White Sox have awarded him with an extension, the financial details of which we do not yet know (UPDATE: See below). What we do know, however, is that Moncada was previously set to become arbitration eligible for the first time in 2021 and wouldn’t have been a free agent until after the 2023 season. But with a new five-year deal in place, he’ll presumably skip the arbitration process entirely and sell at least two free agent years well in advance (it’s not entirely clear when this deal “starts” and how many club options are tacked onto the end just yet).
In terms of (prior) existing control, Moncada has the same amount of service time as Ian Happ, who won’t be arbitration eligible until 2021 or a free agent until after the 2023 season. But without one monster season like Moncada had in 2019 (let alone the same pedigree), a deal for Happ would necessarily cost a lot less. We’ll see where things land and update this post when more information comes out.
UPDATE: $70M for one pre-arb year, three arbitration years and one year of free agency is pretty good money. And Ken Rosenthal has that sixth year club option around $20M, bringing the total deal up to a maximum of six years and $90M, allowing Moncada to hit free agency again after his age 30 season. He did well.
Third baseman Yoan Moncada and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a five-year extension worth $70 million, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN. The contract includes a sixth-year club option. First with the deal being in place was @Ken_Rosenthal.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 5, 2020
Source confirms: Moncada five-year extension is for $70M. Exercising of club option can bring total value to $90M. On it: @BNightengale.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 5, 2020