Feb. 01--In an era in which free agents demand opt-out clauses after a few years in case their megadeal isn't as "mega" as one of their peers', the White Sox should count their blessings Chris Sale is virtually locked up for four more years.
Had he not signed a five-year, $32.5 million deal with a pair of options back in spring training of 2013, Sale would be entering his walk year and preparing to get one of those $200 million contracts elite starters command these days.
Instead, he'll be paid the relatively modest sum of $9.15 million to be the Sox's ace in 2016, giving general manager Rick Hahn the flexibility to add another outfielder to the roster before the start of camp this month.
Fellow starters like David Price ($217 million) Clayton Kershaw ($215 million), Max Scherzer ($210 million) and Zack Greinke ($206 million) all received gargantuan deals since Sale's extension, and Sale won't be a free agent until after 2019, assuming the Sox pick up their two options.
At SoxFest this weekend, I asked Sale what he thought about all the money being shelled out for starters.
"Don't feel bad for me, man," he said.
I assured Sale I don't feel bad for him. He's still filthy rich, after all.
Nevertheless, he's vastly underpaid by today's standards. After all, Sale ranked first among American League starters last summer in Baseball America's poll of major-league managers, and set a slew of strikeout marks in 2015. And his old teammate, Jeff Samardzija, just signed a $90 million deal with the Giants after a subpar season on the South Side.
"I'm in a good spot, trust me," Sale continued. "I've said it a million times. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I got into it. My agent thoroughly traveled down every avenue that could possibly be traveled down. And I'll have my shot again hopefully.
"I like it here. I'm glad all that stuff is out of the way. I can play baseball. I don't worry about contracts. I don't care what other people are making. I don't care what I'm making. I'm here to play baseball and that's what I signed up for."
When asked by a fan at SoxFest what he'd do if he didn't play baseball, Sale cracked that he'd be a "one-man traveling karaoke singer." After listening to him, I have no doubt he'd be just as happy having people throw tips into his hat for singing. In fact Sale won't even concede he's one of the more underpaid aces in the game.
"It's hard to say something like that when you're still in a position that I'm in," he said. "I'm trying to say that very delicately. I'll never complain about my salary, my income, whatever it might be."
That's refreshing to hear, and one reason why he's the most popular Sox player. Certainly Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf can appreciate Sale's attitude after a pair of toxic incidents from years ago.
Who can forget the spring of 2001, when Frank Thomas threatened a holdout because Alex Rodriguez's megadeal made his seven-year, $85 million contract seem puny.
"It's a business," Thomas said when asking for a restructured deal. "It's just like Hollywood. You can't have the top actor making $25 million and the rest (of the stars) making $10 million."
A few years earlier, in 1997, Bulls star Scottie Pippen threatened to sit out the season near the end of his seven-year, $22 million deal, which was suddenly dwarfed by Kevin Garnett's six-year, $166 million contract. Reinsdorf had even warned Pippen not to sign it at the time.
Players want the security a long-term deal provides, but when those deals become anachronisms, they sometimes pout. Sale promises he won't, even if some starter gets a bigger deal than Price, which is bound to happen before 2019.
If Sale stays healthy and continues to put up numbers, he'll probably get that monster payday after 2019. But will he be able to end his career with the White Sox, who aren't renowned for handing out those kinds of contracts?
"I don't have any idea," he said. "It's too hard to even talk about. I love Chicago and I'm glad I'm here now. I appreciate it while I've got it."
psullivan@tribpub.com
