The Chicago White Sox and third baseman Yoan Moncada have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $70 million, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.
A sixth-year club option is worth $25 million and includes a $5 million buyout, according to ESPN. His contract could buy out two years of free agency.
Moncada, 24, went to the White Sox in a 2016 trade with the Boston Red Sox.
In four seasons in the majors, Moncada has a .265 batting average with 50 home runs and 163 RBIs over 343 games. In 132 games last season with the White Sox, Moncada batted .315 while posting career-high totals in home runs (25) and RBIs (79).
-Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale has no significant damage in his pitching elbow.
Still, he is frustrated. “It sucks,” Sale said. “I know the situation we’re in right now. And it’s not fun. I know there’s an expectation level our fans, you guys, myself, our team hold me to. I haven’t met that.”
An MRI of Sale’s left elbow revealed a flexor strain, interim manager Ron Roenicke said.
-Jerry Koosman, the winningest left-hander in the history of the New York Mets, will have his No. 36 retired in June, the team announced.
Koosman, who compiled a 140-137 record while playing 12 seasons for New York from 1967-78, follows Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver (No. 41) and catcher Mike Piazza (No. 31) as former Mets players to have their numbers retired.
“The excitement of playing for the Mets when we won the 1969 World Series was an experience I never thought I’d be able to repeat. But the news that the Mets Hall of Fame Committee has voted to retire my number is another life-changing thrill and honor. I can’t wait until June 13,” Koosman, 77, said in a statement about the event planned before a game against the Washington Nationals.
-The Kansas City Royals made the job of the NFL schedule makers a bit easier.
The Royals have moved their home game set for Thursday, Sept. 10. That’s the first night of the NFL season, and it typically features the Super Bowl champion. The baseball team’s gesture leaves the Truman Sports Complex, which holds the stadiums of both teams, free for the Chiefs.
The Royals instead will play their four-game series against the Oakland Athletics over three days, including a split doubleheader on Sept. 8.
-The Hall of Fame will posthumously present the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime Philadelphia Phillies executive David Montgomery this summer.
Montgomery, who passed away last May at age 72, will be honored on July 25 during Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y.
In a career with the Phillies that he began in 1971 as a ticket office employee and scoreboard operator, Montgomery worked his way up to executive vice president in 1981, chief operating officer in 1992, and president and chief executive officer in 1997. After taking a leave of absence from the Phillies following a cancer diagnosis in 2014, he returned in 2015 as chairman and remained active in that role until his passing.
-Field Level Media
