NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When free agent third baseman Jeff Keppingers deal becomes official next week, the White Sox will have 11 players under contract next season for 93.5 million.
Keppinger signed a three-year deal worth 12 million with the White Sox on Wednesday.
Even with 14 more players to pay, including an expected 7-8 million for second baseman Gordon Beckham and outfielders Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo, the White Sox arent over their budget for 2013, according to general manager Rick Hahn.
In fact, Hahn said his payroll is in fairly good shape on Wednesday afternoon, though he was reluctant to discuss the topic.
Earlier in the offseason, Hahn said the club is expected to begin 2013 with roughly the same payroll it had last season. The White Sox opened last season with at 97.7 million but bumped it to 109 million with the additions of Kevin Youkilis, Francisco Liriano and Brett Myers, a team source confirmed.
Im under no orders right now to shed payroll, so to speak, in order to make additional moves, Hahn said. Thats probably as much detail as I want to go into.