NEW YORK (AP) – Sammy Sosa decided stay with the Chicago Cubs and not test the free agent market, preferring to keep a contract that guarantees him $33 million over the next two years.

Across town Friday, the White Sox decided to exercise Esteban Loaiza’s $4 million option rather than let the 21-game winner shop for offers.

As the first week of the offseason ended, the New York Yankees turned down options on left-hander Gabe White ($3.5 million) and right-hander Antonio Osuna ($2.8 million), and the St. Louis Cardinals said no to a $7 million option on former Yankees left-hander Sterling Hitchcock.

Given the number of teams which say they plan to cut payroll or leave spending at the same level, it wasn’t clear whether Sosa could do better than the $33 million.

over two years as a free agent.

“The market has changed,” said Adam Katz, one of Sosa’s agents. “Sammy’s a most pragmatic and intelligent guy, and he understood this was the best move. In particular, in the context of fact that he’s always maintained he wanted to finish his career with the Cubs, it ended up being an easy decision.”

While Loaiza didn’t sign with the White Sox until the end of January and went to spring training as a non-roster invitee, he started for the AL in the All-Star game, went 21-9 with a 2.90 ERA and led the league with 207 strikeouts. In 2003, he had a $500,000 base salary and earned another $500,000 in performance bonuses.