Over the weekend the White Sox announced that they had agreed to a 4-year, $15.5 million contract with 26-year old pitcher Gavin Floyd.
According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune the deal will pay Floyd $750,000 in 2009, $2.75 million in 2010, $5 million in 2001, and $7 million in 2012, with the White Sox holding a $9.5 million option for 2013.
Said Floyd:
“I’m about to get married, and I have a family to look forward to,” said Floyd, who won 17 games last season. “I feel like I made the right decision with my family and my fiance and my agent. We were just trying to figure out what we wanted to do.”
This leaves John Danks and Bobby Jenks as the other high profile, high priority contract negotiations on the docket. According to White Sox GM Ken Williams, “We’re going to do this in stages.”
I am a big fan of the Gavin Floyd deal for a number of reasons.
- We’ve seen the type of money that teams like the Yankees throw out on pitching every year, and the infamously outlandish contracts that have been signed by the likes of Barry Zito and Mike Hampton. Compared to these deals, Floyd is an absolute bargain and will help the White Sox maintain flexibility when it comes to Danks, Jenks, and other contracts that must be negotiated in the future.
- The deal is a win-win on both sides. The White Sox lock up one of their top 3 starters for the next four years, with an option for a fifth if Floyd stays healthy and continues to produce like he did last year. For Floyd, he gets a nice chunk of guaranteed change through his 30th birthday, at which point he will still be young enough to sign another significant contract if he is healthy and staying on top of his game.
- Gavin Floyd probably is not going to compete for Cy Young awards, and he can be hit or miss, but I think he is a guy that can consistently log 200 innings with an ERA around 4.00, and win 12-15 games a year. If he can do that, he is easily worth the money the White Sox have committed to him. If for some reason he implodes and becomes Bad Gavin more often than he is Good Gavin, the White Sox have not sunk so much money into him that it will tie their hands moving forward.
All in all, a good deal on both sides and it ensures that Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd are anchoring the White Sox pitching staff through at least the next three years. Hopefully we can get a similar commitment from John Danks and keep the most underrated 1-2-3 in baseball intact for the foreseeable future.
About Jerod Morris
