White Sox avoid arbitration with five players

Alex Colome

The White Sox on Friday announced that they reached agreements with each of their remaining five arbitration-eligible players. Here's how the contracts break down for the 2020 season:

RHP Alex Colome: $10,532,500
RF Nomar Mazara: $5.56M
LHP Carlos Rodon: $4.45M
UTIL Leury Garcia: $3.25M
RHP Evan Marshall: $1.1M

It's always good to avoid going to court with arbitration-eligible players. Those hearings are never fun, because they require the club to highlight why a player isn't worth the money he's asking for. That creates animosity and bad feelings that can last throughout a season.

So, it's just best to come to an agreeable number and move forward. That's what the Sox have done with these five players.

Encarnacion deal becomes official

The Sox also officially announced the signing of veteran designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to a one-year, $12 million contract.

One other note on Encarnacion: According to the latest addition of Baseball Digest, he hit the second-most home runs of any Major League player during the decade spanning 2010-19 with 335. Only Nelson Cruz (346 home runs), currently with the Minnesota Twins, hit more.

Encarnacion also ranked third over the past decade with 956 RBIs. Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels led all hitters with 963 RBIs, while Cruz ranked second with 961.

Hopefully, the 37-year-old Encarnacion still has some homers and RBIs left in him.

Medeiros outrighted

To make room on the roster for Encarnacion, the Sox designated left-handed pitcher Kodi Medeiros for assignment. Medeiros was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle of the 2018 season in exchange for reliever Joakim Soria.

Medeiros cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Charlotte.

The Sox's 40-man roster is at maximum capacity, and someone else will have to be dropped when the signing of relief pitcher Steve Cishek becomes official.