Joe Crede and the White Sox avoided arbitration for a second straight year by agreeing to a one-year, $4.94 million deal Tuesday. The third baseman will earn $2 million more than last season, factoring in his base salary of $2.675 million plus incentives. Crede, 28, followed up an exceptional performance in September 2005 and throughout the White Sox 11-1 run during the postseason with a breakout effort in 2006. He ranked third among American League third basemen with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs, a .506 slugging percentage, 61 extra-base hits and a .978 fielding percentage. Crede finished fourth in average at .283 and fifth in total bases with 275, setting career highs in each of those categories.