White Sox lock up Anderson with record 6-year extension

The rebuilding Chicago White Sox have locked up one of the biggest pieces of their future in record-setting fashion.

The South Siders officially announced the signing of shortstop Tim Anderson to a six-year, $25-million contract extension on Tuesday. The deal also includes a pair of option years valued at $12.5 million and $14 million respectively, according to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago; if exercised, they'd keep Anderson in a White Sox uniform through 2024, covering his first two years of free agency.

Anderson's contract is now the largest ever given to a player with less than 100 days of big-league service time, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, surpassing the guaranteed $20-million deal Chris Archer signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014.

Anderson, a first-round pick (17th overall) of the White Sox in the 2013 draft, blitzed through the club's farm system and made his big-league debut June 10 of last year. The 23-year-old immediately became the White Sox starting shortstop; in just 431 big-league plate appearances he hit .283/.306/.432 with nine homers, 30 RBIs, 22 doubles, and 10 stolen bases - numbers good enough for a seventh-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He also proved to be defensively sound at shortstop, compiling 10.8 defensive WAR and six defensive runs saved.

Despite his solid entrance to the majors, Anderson did show a proclivity for striking out in his rookie year, doing so 117 times while taking just 13 walks. That made him only the 13th player in the modern era to strike out over 100 times and walk less than 15 in a season with at least 400 plate appearances.