Royals Sign Bobby Witt Jr. To Record Breaking Extension

The Kansas City Royals and star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. have agreed on the most expensive contract in the history of the Royals franchise. The 23-year-old signed an 11-year, 288.7 million dollar guaranteed contract, and it also includes incentives that could raise the total number of the contract to $377.7 million. The deal will run with no interruptions through the 2030 season, and then Witt will have a player opt-out clause every year after 2030 for the last four years of the contract. Just for reference, the previous record contract in Royals history was when cornerstone catcher Salvador Perez signed a four-year, 82-million-dollar extension in 2021. This is a literal and figurative home run for the Royals as they lock up one of the best young shortstops in the game for the foreseeable future, and they also hold the right to exercise the contract to run through the 2037 season if Witt does not choose to act on any of his player opt-out clauses at the back end of the deal. 

Speaking of literal home runs, Bobby Witt Jr. hits a lot of them. Witt hit 30 home runs in 2023 to go along with an absurd 49 stolen bases. He joined National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. as the only members of the 30-40 club in 2023. To go along with being in the 30-40 club, Witt slashed .276/.319/.495. His insane 2023 season earned him a seventh-place finish in the American League MVP award voting which was won by a guy who is pretty good at baseball named Shohei Ohtani. If you are somehow worried about Witt’s 2023 season being a fluke, do not worry. In 2022, his rookie year, he finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting where he hit 20 home runs, had 80 RBIs, and stole 30 bases in 150 games played. It is pretty safe to say the Royals have found their franchise superstar for the next decade. 

This has been an uncharacteristic offseason for the Royals in terms of how much money they have spent on free agents this winter. Per the Spotrac 2024 MLB Free Agent Spending Tracker, the Royals have spent the fifth most money in free agency this offseason only behind the Dodgers (obviously), Phillies, Giants, and Diamondbacks. The notable players the Royals have signed through free agency this year include veteran starting pitcher Michael Wacha, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, and a couple of talented relievers with playoff experience in Seth Lugo and Will Smith. Overall, the Royals have committed over 100 million dollars in free agency this winter, and that is not even including the signing of Bobby Witt Jr. It has to be exciting for Royals fans to see their team who is coming off a 106-loss season in 2023, committing their resources toward speeding up this rebuild that has been going on ever since their World Series championship in 2015. That World Series season was the last time the Royals had a record over the .500 mark. However, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be getting closer and closer by the day for the Royals, and now they have made another major step forward by making sure their franchise shortstop will be there every step of the way.