Royals Already Active in the Off-season

The Royals made a big signing to keep their stellar rotation in tact.

If you listen to the midweek episodes, you know that I expressed skepticism that the Royals would be able to keep Michael Wacha. My thinking was fairly simple. I assumed that because this is was probably Wacha’s last shot at a payday, he’d be more inclined to test the market and the Royals would be less inclined to overpay to keep him.

The moral of the story is … don’t go to a casino with me.

Wacha’s new deal is a three year extension that starts in 2025 and replaces the option year he would have otherwise had in 2025. The Royals are giving him $51M for those three years with a $14M club option in 2028, which will be exercised if Wacha is still effective at 36. I’ll dig into it further in a minute, but if nothing else, this is another sign of the aggressive nature of J.J. Piccolo. Agree or disagree with the moves he makes, Piccolo doesn’t sit on his hands and hope the team gets better. He makes moves.