The deal reportedly includes a club option for a sixth year and buys out two years of potential free agency for the third baseman and could stop him from hitting the open market until his age-31 season.
T A 7 @TimAnderson7
The 24-year-old was acquired in the December 2016 Chris Sale trade with Boston. He slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs in 2019—a year after he led the league in strikeouts with 217. He joins Lucas Giolito, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal among those under club control through at least the 2023 season in Chicago.
Moncada's deal could increase to $90 million over six years if the club exercises its option.
Bob Nightengale @BNightengaleThe Chicago #WhiteSox have spent $336.5 million on free agents and contract extensions this winter and spring after signing Yoan Moncada to a five-year, $70 million extension.
The pact helps solidify what the White Sox will look like for the better part of the coming decade. Robert and Jimenez are under club control through 2026. Dylan Cease and Anderson are under club control through 2025, and Michael Kopech's pact will last through 2024. Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez will remain on the South Side through 2023.
Among them, only Grandal (31), Keuchel (32) and Anderson (26) are older than 25. Prospects Andrew Vaughn and Nick Madrigal figure to join that core within the next few seasons.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassanThe sixth-year club option on Yoan Moncada’s deal with the White Sox is for $25 million and includes a $5 million buyout. So the five years are for $65M, and if the option is exercised, the deal will total $90 million over six years. Contract buys out two years of free agency.
News of Moncada's extension comes as the Red Sox weigh Tommy John surgery for Sale, who was traded to Boston for Moncada, Kopech and Luis Alexander Basabe—each of whom are expected to figure prominently in Chicago's immediate future.
Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA rankings—which err on the cautious side—project the White Sox will finish 2020 with 82.7 wins and finish third in the American League Central a year after they won 72 games. Still, general manager Rick Hahn clearly feels this team has all the tools it needs to compete for the pennant long term, especially as the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers continue to rebuild.
Christopher Kamka @ckamkaOverly specific stat of the day: In 2019, Yoán Moncada became the first player in #WhiteSox history to hit .310 or better with 30+ doubles, 5+ triples, 25+ HR & 10+ stolen bases in a season.
Only the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians stand in the way of a Sox team looking to end an 11-year playoff drought, and Cleveland has been trending downward since it fell to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series.
