White Sox reach deal with utility company Josh Harrison, said his representatives at MSM Sports Management. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter links) that it’s a $5.5 million annual guarantee. He will earn $4 million in 2022 and the deal also includes a 2023 club option with a $1.5 million buyout.
An 11-year MLB veteran, Harrison remained a prolific player into his 30s. He’s never been an elite offensive player outside of .315/.347/.490 with the Pirates in 2014, which earned him some MVP support. However, he has generally been a power hitter throughout his MLB career, including the last couple of seasons. Harrison has rebounded from a two-year slump between 2018 and 2019 and has posted decent numbers since the start of the 2020 campaign.
Over the past two seasons, Harrison has a .279/.343/.402 lineup in 649 games. That’s four percentage points better than the league average as measured by wRC+. Harrison doesn’t have huge power — he hit 11 home runs with an ISO of .123 (slugging minus hitting average) — but he does show great batting skills. Over the past couple of seasons, he’s only hit 13.4% of his plates, and last year he hit 82.7% of his shots. That’s more than six points higher than the league, a continuation of his career-long success.
Midway through last season, it looked like Harrison might even sign a multi-year contract. He saw regular action between second base, third base, and left field with national players and reached well above average (.294/.366/.434) in 359 games through the end of July. We bought it together Jan Gomez as part of the demolition of Washington on time, but Harrison stumbled on this stretch. He hit just .254/.296/.341 in two months in the Bay Area before going public.
This late-season slump, combined with Harrison’s age (35 in July), combined to limit his one-year warranty. However, he should have a decent path to playing time against the South Siders in the postseason. Chicago is currently slated to open a year from Leuri Garcia at second base after re-signing him to a surprise three-year contract in November. Given Harrison and Garcia’s respective price brackets, the latter may well remain the nominal “starter” in the cornerstone, but both players are looking to bounce around the diamond.