Danks should wait to seek long-term deal
Don’t expect the White Sox to sign left-hander John Danks to a contract extension anytime soon.
Danks, two years away from free agency, would hit the market at 27 and pitch the following season at 28.
Considering that lefty Cliff Lee signed a five-year, $120 million free-agent deal at 32, Danks might be wise to wait.
Danks, like any player, would benefit from long-term security. But he already has banked more than $10 million, earning $3.45 million last season and signing a one-year, $6 million deal on Tuesday to avoid arbitration.
If he stays healthy and produces at his normal level in 2011, Danks should earn about $8 million in '12, his final year of arbitration.
After that, he would be free.
To this point, Danks is not nearly as accomplished as Lee or CC Sabathia, who commanded a seven-year, $161 free-agent deal at 28.
Still, he has averaged 203 innings over the past three seasons, and his 3.61 ERA in that period ranks eighth among left-handed starters.
Two years from now, he could hit the jackpot.
— Ken Rosenthal
