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The Kansas City Royals signed star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a franchise-record 11-year, $288.7M contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Monday.
The 23-year-old from Colleyville, Texas, hit .276 with 30 dwelling runs and 96 RBI final season — the second of his profession. Not solely can he deal with himself on the plate, however he is additionally a terror on the bottom paths with 49 stolen bases and an MLB-high 11 triples in 2023.
“From the second I used to be drafted in 2019, your entire Royals group and followers have handled me and my household like their very own,” Witt Jr. mentioned in an announcement after signing the deal. This metropolis and group have felt like dwelling since day one, and it is an honor to proceed to signify all of Ok.C.”
Whereas Royals followers ought to be excited that they get to observe Witt go to work for the subsequent decade, they need to even be excited that possession determined to interrupt out the checkbook to maintain him.
Some MLB golf equipment are infamous for retaining their group payroll small to enhance their monetary stability. Whereas that mindset may match for a typical enterprise, it makes it extremely troublesome to area a profitable group in any skilled sport.
As a small-market group, the Royals have historically been one of many golf equipment that sacrifices on-field efficiency for financial success. Since 2020, Kansas Metropolis has ranged from the twenty second to the Twenty sixth-highest payroll in MLB.
Over that point, they’ve a dismal 221-323 file, and haven’t finished above .500 since their World Sequence title run in 2015.
In 2023, they trailed the most important league’s high spenders, the New York Mets, by $247.5M.
Salvador Perez held the previous franchise file for the largest contract when he signed a four-year, $82M deal in 2021. He was already over 30 years previous on the time.
Witt, in the meantime, is heading into simply his third MLB season (in comparison with Season 13 for Perez).
He’ll doubtless nonetheless want some assist if Kansas Metropolis desires to get again to the postseason for the primary time since their most up-to-date championship, and his youth does current dangers.
However Witt has proven sufficient promise that followers and possession alike ought to be over the moon concerning the deal.
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