Leury García avoids a Yolmering with new deal

Rick Hahn said last week that spring training is a good time to return to the table to talk contract extensions. Most people thought he might be referring to Yoan Moncada or Lucas Giolito, but the White Sox instead started smaller with new deals for Leury García and Aaron Bummer.

(I’ll get to Bummer and his five-year, $16 million contract a little later.)

García, who was already under contract for $3.25 million as he and the White Sox avoided a hearing in his second year of arbitration, agreed to a revised deal that covers the next two seasons. He’ll get the same salary in 2020, but White Sox now hold a club option for the same amount for 2021, with a $250,000 buyout that gives García a little exit cash for any troubles (corrected).

This seems like an unnecessary maneuver on its face, but it avoids the Cliffhangers-like situation Yolmer Sánchez confronted as he worked his way through his final arb year.

As Sánchez accrued all the playing time at second base while slugging a paltry .321, it became clear that he wasn’t going to be worth his final arbitration projection, which ended up coming in at $6.2 million. The White Sox outrighted him ahead of the non-tender deadline, and he had to settle for a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants.

García sat in a similar spot. His wide-ranging competence is worth $3 million or so on a team that is still solidifying two of his main positions. However, if he posted another sub-.700 OPS over a sizable amount of plate appearances, his salary projection would probably come in at over $5 million, and that’s when he becomes a harder sell, especially when an extra bench spot makes his versatility less valuable.

By signing the deal, García hasn’t entirely removed the equivalent of a non-tendering, but he’ll make a little more money even if the club ends up declining his option. On the other side, he loses out on the ability to capitalize on a monster year, which doesn’t seem all that likely.

In the median case where Luis Robert and/or Nick Madrigal stake long-term claim to their positions sooner than later and García merely fills in adequately with the playing time that gets to him, he has a better chance at sidestepping the harsh treatment Sánchez experienced on the open market. And even if the White Sox do decide to move on, he’ll get an extra $250,000 for the trouble. It’s not much of a win for either side, but this looks like a case where both parties don’t want the yodeler to plummet to his doom, and this accomplishes that.

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