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KANSAS CITY – After 106 games in 2023, the Royals have vowed to improve their roster and get busy in the offseason, hoping to spend money and explore trades that will bring in key pieces to help the young team. in Kansas City.
This week, expectations have turned to action.
Within hours of Tuesday afternoon, the Royals finalized a three-year, $45 million contract with right-hander Seth Lugo and a two-year contract with right-hander Chris Stratton, sources said. to MLB.com.
According to a statement, Lugo can opt out of the contract after 2025. He will make $15 million in the next two seasons and a $15 million player in ’26. Stratton’s deal will pay him $3.5 million this season and a $4.5 million player option in ’25, per a source.
The club has not confirmed any of the transactions, which are pending in person and will likely not be official until the end of this week.
Lugo, 34, has long been a fan of the Royals. The team talked to the curveball specialist last season before he signed with the Padres, and Kansas City was able to count on him again this season after he declined his 2024 player option with San Diego in November. .
The right-hander decided to test the open market again after proving himself a regular starter for the Padres, posting a 3.57 ERA and 140 walks in 146 1/3 innings over 26 starts in his age-33 career. season
Meanwhile, the Royals are giving Lugo one of the biggest free agent deals they’ve ever signed as he approaches the top of their rotation. Lugo’s $45 million contract is the fourth largest in free agency (not including extensions) in history behind Alex Gordon ($72 million) in 2016, Ian Kennedy ($70 million) ) in ’16 and Gil Meche ($55 million) in ’06.
Lugo, who first put himself on the map with his high-spin curveball when he debuted with the Mets in 2016, had an impact starter before this season. However, his results were mixed, as he posted a 4.35 ERA in 38 career starts before 2023.
Lugo made 26 of those 38 starts over his first two seasons before spending 2018-22 pitching almost exclusively in relief work for New York, posting a 3.25 ERA in 329 1/3 innings over 239 appearances ( 12 starts).
As a result, it’s unclear what to expect from the Shreveport, La., native after the Padres signed him last offseason and gave him the opportunity to return to the rotation.
Lugo did more than prove himself worthy of a chance to change. And he looks to be the team’s second most reliable starter behind Blake Snell in a season where both Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have missed significant time with injuries.
Although he never pitched more than 101 1/3 innings in a season before 2023, Lugo was very strong down the stretch, pitching to a 2.50 ERA over his last nine starts — including pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings against the Giants in his final outing of the year.
Lugo gives the Royals an anchor in the rotation along with Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles. Stratton, 33, provides another reliable arm in the bullpen following the Smith trade.
Kansas City’s bullpen’s 5.23 ERA last season was second-best in baseball, and this season, the Royals have targeted relievers who can not only control the zone, but also eliminate the weight of young hands.
An eight-year veteran with a career 4.43 ERA, Stratton was traded from the Cardinals to the Rangers last season, winning the World Series and posting a 3.41 ERA with 22 strikeouts and eight walks in 29 innings for Texas in the regular season.
Stratton doesn’t light up the scoreboard, but he does induce weak contact and limit walks — exactly what the Royals need. He walked 7.7 percent with the Cards in ’23 and dropped to 6.8 percent with the Rangers.
At best, the Royals will have plenty of new names in their ‘pen next season. Along with Smith and Stratton, Kansas City acquired Nick Anderson in a trade with the Braves last month and selected Matt Sauer, the Royals’ No. 22 pick, according to MLB Pipeline, from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.