In a quartet of expected moves, the White Sox have offered arbitration to free agents Paul Konerko and J.J. Putz while declining to offer arbitration to Manny Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski.
Ramirez made $20 million this season and Pierzynski earned $6.25 million, so while they’re both Type A free agents the White Sox couldn’t risk either player accepting an arbitration offer that basically guarantees a one-year deal at the same salary or higher.
Chicago would gladly bring back Konerko or Putz on one-year deals at their 2010 salaries, so there’s no risk to offering them arbitration.
Konerko has reportedly told the White Sox that they’ll get the opportunity to match any offer he receives as a free agent. Putz returning to Chicago seems much less likely, as he should have no trouble securing multi-year offers after posting a 2.83 ERA and 65/15 K/BB ratio in 54 innings.