Royals keep rotation stalwart, sign Michael Wacha to 3-year, $51 million deal: Source

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Entering free agency for the sixth time, right-hander Michael Wacha pitched well enough to position himself for the most lucrative deal of his career. Instead, Wacha bypassed testing the market to stay with the Kansas City Royals, and he still made out pretty well.

Wacha agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract with the Royals, a major-league source confirmed Sunday. The pact includes bonuses and an option for the fourth year that would max out the deal at $72 million, the source said.

His $17 million guaranteed average annual value is higher than what Wacha earned a season ago, when helped lift the Royals back into the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade.

In previous forays into free agency, Wacha settled for modest one-year deals for $3 million. But a career resurgence put him in line for a salary approaching $20 million per year.

Player

  

Signed

  

Ages

  

fWAR1

  

fWAR3

  

fWAR5

  

Years

  

Total

  

2024 AAV

  

2019

36-37

3.0

8.7

13.1

2

34.0

20.9

2020

30-34

3.3

6.4

15.6

5

85.0

20.7

2023

32

3.8

5.7

7.7

1

19.7

20.3

2025

33

3.3

7.5

8.9

2024

31-34

3

7.6

13.3

4

80

20

The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected that Wacha would land a three-year, $60 million contract, though that assumed the pitcher would test the open market rather than sign early and stay put. The Royals could have given Wacha a qualifying offer.

In retaining Wacha, the Royals managed to keep together the top three starters in a rotation that was one of the best in baseball in 2024. Wacha will once again slot behind Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo. The club also has Brady Singer, Alec Marsh, Kris Bubic and Kyle Wright as options. (Wright was acquired last offseason but spent all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery.)

With its top three set in stone, the club could also look to trade one of the homegrown starters at the back of its rotation as it explores ways to upgrade the lineup. 

Required reading

(Photo: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)





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Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

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