Levine: Tim Anderson's Long-Term Deal Just The Latest Smart Move By White Sox

By Bruce Levine--

GLENDALE, Ariz. (CBS) -- The White Sox's signing of 23-year-old shortstop Tim Anderson to a six-year deal that could extend to eight seasons made a world of sense for the retooling franchise.

It also made Anderson wealthy after just 431 plate appearances in the big leagues and was a nod to a franchise in transition committing to building around a budding young star. Anderson signed a six-year deal worth $25 million, and two club options for the 2023 and 2024 seasons could bring the total to $51.5 million.

"He is not a finished product yet," general manager Rick Hahn said. "We reward him for the progress he has made in a White Sox uniform so far. We think there will be a lot of good things to come as he grows as a big league player. We certainly feel he will play a major role in for us over the next decade."

The White Sox have been ahead of the pack when it comes to signing young players, getting deals done before their arbitration and free-agent clocks begin to tick. The idea of signing young players before they can make big money was popularized by Indians general manager John Hart in the early 1990s. Working with fewer dollars in a small market, Hart convinced ownership to spend a little early to save a lot later. This allowed the Indians to retain some top young talent that was coming through their flush system.

Back in 2003, Hahn was a new assistant general manager for the White Sox when he devised a plan to sign left-hander Mark Buehrle to a three-year, $9-million deal. It favored the team, but it also made Buehrle a millionaire who was free of money worries for the first time in his and his family's life.

The White Sox followed in later years by signing Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Adam Eaton to deals prior to arbitration. The franchise has saved millions, and the players flourished. In the case of Sale and Eaton, their team-friendly contracts were part of the reason the White Sox secured seven quality prospects in return in separate trades this past December. Quintana should also bring back a nice cache of players.

Now, Anderson leads the next generation White Sox players that the team brass believes can become stars.

"It is important for this us to get cost certainty and contract control," Hahn said. "This is the real benefit to the club gong forward. We now have our potential shortstop under contract into his early 30s. At the other extreme when we were not able to make it work with Adam and Chris, there was a benefit when it came time to trade them."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.