ESPN: Konerko stays with White Sox at $60M over 5 Years

[Guest Rotblatt]

From Rotoworld:

]Paul Konerko has agreed to stay with the White Sox on a five-year deal, according to ESPN Radio and ESPNews. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the deal is worth $60 million and includes a limited no-trade clause. He's more of a $9 million-per-year player, but at least he's a very good bet to be an above average regular for the duration of the contract. He's also a better signing for the White Sox than he would have been for the Angels, who have Casey Kotchman ready and Kendry Morales on the way up.

So it looks like he gave a $5M home town discount (allegedly, the Orioles offered him $65M over 5).

If Thome rebounds at all next year, the Sox will have a pretty a pretty sweet lineup.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Good! It's nice to see players stay with their teams.

Good for him, and good for the White Sox.

[Guest sharpie]

Good. 'Specially since we've got Delgado and weren't jonesing for Konerko anymore.

[Valadius]

Excellent. Now Chicago has to figure out who plays first base and who DH's.

[metirish]

What Yancy said......

[Guest sharpie]

Konerko plays first base and Thome DH's. Not hard, that one.

[smg58]

That's a no-brainer. Konerko is supposed to be a pretty good fielder, and Thome's chances of staying healthy are probably (does anybody have stats on this?) better as a DH. So basically they have a rookie replacing Rowand, and Thome replacing Carl Everett. A little bit dicey on both ends, but it also gives them a chance of being even better than last year. I'd still make them the favorites.

[Elster88]

With the deals for Thome and Konerko that Delgado contract is looking better and better, no?

[metirish]

It's a steal really....

[Frayed Knot]

A side benefit to all this is that the Angels were the main competition for Kornenko and losing out on this one right-handed slugger could give them extra incentive to go hard after St. Manny of Ramirez. Anaheim is supposedly Manny's preferred landing spot [insert Goofy joke here] and one of the few other teams who could afford him.
Personally, I'd just as soon see this temptation removed from Omar's view entirely before we ever get a chance to find out whether this "obsession" of his actually exists or is merely a figment of the media's collective imagination.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

I remember when Omar was Monteal GM, all sorts of Mets-Expos WATPs were based on Omar's supposed "obsession" with Timo Perez. Last year, his "obsession" was with Sammy Sosa. Hopefully this Manny "obsession" will pass the same way those two did.

[metirish]

Sosa could be had for nothing now ,right?...

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Great point 86. I was among the first fools willing to swallow the Sosa nonsense, writing here a year ago that I was *certain* So-so would be our right fielder and Diaz would be sacrificed to make it happen.

Omar has come a very, very long way in my estimation since then. My issues with him have been incredibly minor -- Valent & Ice Williams are all that come to mind this second.

[seawolf17]

How about bringing Sosa in on a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training? I'd be curious enough to try that. I don't think he'll slip that low, but I'd be curious.

[Zvon]

This is a steal for the ChiSox and and I really respect players that dont just go with the money.

Thome called Konerko 1st thing when he got to Chi. and asked him to please stay on. Told him he wasnt there to play 1st, but to DH. And that the team needed him back bad.

Yea, the WhiteSox will field a fine team in 2006.
I do hope Thome bounces back from his recent woes.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: A side benefit to all this is that the Angels were the main competition for Kornenko and losing out on this one right-handed slugger could give them extra incentive to go hard after St. Manny of Ramirez. Anaheim is supposedly Manny's preferred landing spot [insert Goofy joke here] and one of the few other teams who could afford him. Personally, I'd just as soon see this temptation removed from Omar's view entirely before we ever get a chance to find out whether this "obsession" of his actually exists or is merely a figment of the media's collective imagination.

Ya beat me to it, FK.
(I hate it when I'm on the road all day without PC access)

Later

[duan]

one thing though - it definitely spells the end of Frank Thomas' Chicago career. If I was an AL GM looking for a DH I'd be SO willing to take a chance on him for 3 mill upto 6 in incentives.