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White Sox Fri Mar 08 2013
White Sox Sign Chris Sale to Extension
Hey, remember the post from Wednesday? Ignore it.
Chris Sale signed a five-year, $32.5 million extension yesterday afternoon. Though he won't notice a huge difference in 2013 -- he'll make $850,000 -- the contract is loaded in the later years. He will make $9.5 million in 2016, and $12 million in 2017.
The Sox lock up their top pitching asset with a sweetheart of a deal. The team also possess two nice team options at the end of the deal. They can retain their ace for $12.5 million in 2018 and for $13.5 million in 2019.
The club signs a pitcher who had a higher 2012 WAR (5.7) than Felix Hernandez (4.6), who inked a seven-year, $175 million deal with Seattle in February. Not to say that Sale is better than Hernandez, but Chicago gets a pitcher who can have comparable stats at a fraction of the price.
Sale, meanwhile, gets a guaranteed multi-million dollar contract, which will be huge if arm troubles return or if Sale's numbers regress. Instead of making a shade over the minimum this year and then riding out three one-year deals under arbitration, Sale gets an extension that may last the rest of the decade. He made out well for someone with limited leverage.
Sale can bank $58.5 million total over the full course of the contract, and will become a free agent at age 30 at the latest. After this deal he'll be in a great position for an even larger deal, still in the prime of his career.
This is a solid agreement for both sides. Makes much more sense than Sale making only $600,000 this year.
