Sox Re-sign Garland For Another Year

CHICAGO -- (AP) The White Sox avoided arbitration with right-hander Jon Garland on Friday, agreeing to a $3.4 million, one-year contract. Garland, who got a $1.1 million raise, was 12-11 with a 4.89 ERA last season, the first winning record of his career. He had a career-high 113 strikeouts, pitched 200 innings for the first time and won 12 games for the third straight season.

Garland is 46-51 with a 4.68 ERA in four-plus seasons with the White Sox. Originally selected by the crosstown Cubs as the 10th pick in the 1997 amateur draft, he was traded to the White Sox a year later.

I've talked before about what the Sox would do with Garland if they faced the possiblity of having to go through arbitration with him. In that scenario, the Sox would have likely been on the hook for close to $5 million. At a dollar figure that high, the Sox might have been better off not tendering him a contract and finding another league-average pitcher.

This agreement is much better.

As previously written, Garland still has potential. And this contract gives the Sox another year to find out. If Garland only manages to give the Sox what he gave them the past four seasons, that's worth it for this price.