Last year, Scott Kingery and the Philadelphia Phillies surprised the baseball world when agreeing to a long-term deal before the infielder ever played a game in the majors — demonstrating a commitment for both sides on the player's ability and role for future Phillies teams to come.
Today, the Chicago White Sox are rumored to make the same move by coming to terms with a long-term contract with their number one prospect, Eloy Jimenez, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and Z101 Hector Gomez.
https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1108434253862326274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Kingery's deal is set up to pay him $24 million during his arbitration years, and three options after that total $42 million. Altogether Kingery's contract could be nine years, $66 million.
According to The Athletic's, Ken Rosenthal, Jimenez's first six seasons will pay him $43 million with two club options. Passan tweeted that those options could push the total contract to eight years, $77 million.
Eloy Jimenez’s deal with the Chicago White Sox will be for six years and $43 million, as @Ken_Rosenthal said. It will include a pair of club options and can max out around $77 million, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 20, 2019
Now, does this mean we will we see Jimenez on Opening Day with the White Sox? Not much of a point in trying to game service time if a long-term contract is already in place, and let's face it, Jimenez proved International League pitching last year is not much of a test. This new deal could shuffle manager Rick Renteria's plans for the Opening Day 25-man roster but in a good way.
