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Royals, Bobby Witt Jr. agree to 11-year, $288.8 million contract

ESPN’s Major League Baseball insider, Jeff Passan, reported that Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. agreed to an 11-year, $288 million contract. It’s the most lucrative contract the franchise offered by a mile compared to Salvador Perez’s four-year, $82 million extension.

The deal gives Witt Jr. an opt-out from the seventh to the tenth MLB seasons, allowing him to renegotiate the contract or sign elsewhere. If he decides to stay in Kansas City, the Royals can add three years and $89 million by the 11th season. Therefore, he can earn up to $377 million in 14 seasons.

Witt Jr.'s new contract has a no-trade clause and a $7,777,777 signing bonus. His total guaranteed money is the second-largest amount for an MLB player before entering arbitration behind Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 14-year, $340 million. The Texas native is the seventh player in MLB history to receive a nine-figure deal despite playing not more than two MLB seasons.

He has been impressive since his MLB debut with the Royals in 2022, three years after the team selected him second overall in the 2019 June Amateur Draft. Witt Jr. finished fourth in the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .254 with 150 hits, 80 runs batted in, and 20 home runs.

Last season, he led the league in triples (11) and batted .276, finishing with 96 RBIs and 30 home runs. Those numbers placed him seventh in the 2023 AL Most Valuable Player voting. More importantly, he reduced his strikeouts from 135 in 2022 to 121 a year later.

With Witt Jr. under contract, the Royals can build a competitive roster around him to reverse their 56-106 finish last season. It could also help the team get enough funding for a new home, replacing decades-old Kauffmann Stadium.

In addition to Bobby Witt Jr.'s extension, the Royals brought in right-handed pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. Vinnie Pasquantino's return from shoulder surgery will provide the Royals with a competitive duo to build.

-Lance Fernandez

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