CHICAGO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a three-year, $18 million contract with workhorse lefthander Mark Buehrle.
He will get $3.5 million in 2004, $5.75 million in 2005, and $7.75 million in 2006. The club also holds an option at $9.5 million for 2007.
Buehrle would have been eligible for salary arbitration in each of the next three years and could have become a free agent following the 2006 campaign.
"Mark Buehrle has been a valuable member of this franchise for the last three-plus seasons, and we feel he is one of the top young lefthanded pitchers in baseball," said General Manager Ken Williams.
Buehrle, 24, went 14-14 with a 4.14 ERA in a career-high 35 starts in 2003. He was 12-4 with a 3.47 ERA over his final 20 starts.
He has thrown at least 220 innings with 100-plus strikeouts in each of the last three seasons. In 129 career games, he is 53-35 with a 3.71 ERA and was named to the AL All-Star team in 2002.
