Roster will be strong on Opening Day, general manager Hahn says
MLB teams committed to more than $1 billion in a single day for the first time, hours before an expected lockout Wednesday night, scrambling to land players before a signing freeze. The White Sox contributed $16.5 million earmarked for infielder/outfielder Leury Garcia in a three-year deal announced Wednesday and the Cubs signed catcher Yan Gomes for $13 million over two seasons. The Sox also signed reliever Kendall Gravemen to a three-year, $24 million deal this week, with more cash to be added to their $170 million payroll for 2022 when owners’ lockout is over. As teams hurried to get deals done before an expiring collective bargaining agreement that would force baseball’s first work stoppage since 1995, Max Scherzer signed for $130 million over three years with the Mets, Javy Baez got $140 million for six years from the Tigers, Marcus Semien signed for $175 million for seven years with the Rangers and Corey Seager got a whopping $325 million for 10 years with the Rangers. While needed, the Sox moves were nowhere near as splashy. “It’s been a much quicker pace than we’ve seen in recent years, a very robust free-agent market over the last several weeks,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday.
