Michael Wacha's Deal Sets the Royals Up

Simply bringing back a big part of the 2024 team now allows the Royals to do basically whatever they want.

Making the obvious move, the one that most expected the Royals to make, doesn’t make for a sexy headline. Even with the idea that Michael Wacha was going to exercise his right to opt out of his contract, I’d have probably put him returning to the Royals at 80 percent if anyone had asked me. But 80 percent isn’t 100 percent, so the fact that they did sign him is a big deal. I also didn’t necessarily expect it to happen before players were free to sign with other teams, so that’s a big bonus for the Royals. Getting your third-best starter from 2024 locked into the 2025 rotation before even really getting the chance to fill other holes on the team is a big win.

Let’s look at the deal itself for Wacha. He is guaranteed $51 million over three years. The breakdown is:

• $18 million in 2025

• $18 million in 2026

• $14 million in 2027 with up to $4 million in incentives

• $1 million buyout

• $14 million club option in 2028 with up to $4 million in incentives