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Mike Moustakas agrees to deal to return to Royals
Mike Moustakas and Kansas City have agreed to a one-year contract that keeps him with the Royals and guarantees the third baseman $6.5 million, according to ESPN and multiple reports.
The deal could be worth up to $22.7 million over two seasons, a person familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press. Moustakas gets a $5.5 million salary this year and has the chance to earn $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. The deal includes a $15 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout.
Moustakas turned down a $17.4 million, one-year qualifying offer from the Royals in November. In a historically slow free-agent market, he found the interest of many teams dimmed because a deal with him would require compensation such as a loss of draft picks and/or international signing bonus allotment.
Coming off his second All-Star appearance, the 29-year-old Moustakas hit .272 last year with 24 doubles and 151 hits while also setting career highs in home runs (38), RBIs (85) and slugging (.521) for Kansas City.
His 38 home runs broke the Royals' single-season record of 36 set by Steve Balboni in 1985.
The left-handed-hitting third baseman has a .251 average with 119 home runs and 379 RBIs in 836 games over his six-year career.
The deal could be worth up to $22.7 million over two seasons, a person familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press. Moustakas gets a $5.5 million salary this year and has the chance to earn $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. The deal includes a $15 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout.
Moustakas turned down a $17.4 million, one-year qualifying offer from the Royals in November. In a historically slow free-agent market, he found the interest of many teams dimmed because a deal with him would require compensation such as a loss of draft picks and/or international signing bonus allotment.
Coming off his second All-Star appearance, the 29-year-old Moustakas hit .272 last year with 24 doubles and 151 hits while also setting career highs in home runs (38), RBIs (85) and slugging (.521) for Kansas City.
His 38 home runs broke the Royals' single-season record of 36 set by Steve Balboni in 1985.
The left-handed-hitting third baseman has a .251 average with 119 home runs and 379 RBIs in 836 games over his six-year career.