The Kansas Metropolis 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, all the Royals group and followers have handled me and my household like their very own,” Witt Jr. stated in an announcement after signing the deal. This metropolis and workforce have felt like dwelling since day one, and it is an honor to proceed to characterize all of Okay.C.”
Whereas Royals followers must be excited that they get to look at 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 holding their workforce payroll small to enhance their monetary stability. Whereas that mindset may go for a typical enterprise, it makes it extremely troublesome to discipline a profitable workforce in any skilled sport.
As a small-market workforce, 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 report, and have not completed above .500 since their World Sequence title run in 2015.
In 2023, they trailed the foremost league’s prime spenders, the New York Mets, by $247.5M.
Salvador Perez held the earlier franchise report for the most important 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 probably nonetheless want some assist if Kansas Metropolis needs 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 must be over the moon in regards to the deal.
