Royals and All-Star 3B Maikel Garcia agree to 5-year contract, AP source says

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a five-year contract that includes a club option for a sixth season, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract is pending. Financial terms of the deal are unknown, but the deal is expected to benefit Garcia, who is first eligible for arbitration in 2026.

Advertising

The deal essentially buys out his arbitration years and possibly his first two years of free agency.

The 25-year-old is coming off a breakout season both on the field, where he won his first Gold Glove playing alongside All-Star Bobby Witt Jr., and at the plate, where he hit .286 with a career-high 16 homers and 74 RBIs.

Although the Royals prioritized on-field assistance during the offseason, they agreed to $5.25 million. deal with Lane Thomas on Thursday — they also wanted to make sure they preserved the cornerstones of their franchise. That started with the re-signing of catcher Salvador Perez to a two-year, $25 million deal in November and continued by keeping Garcia through at least the 2030 season.

He is also capable of playing shortstop and second base, and Garcia even tried out the outfield last season.

Advertising

By keeping him in their ranks, the Royals also bolstered one of the best infields in baseball. Witt is a second straight All-Star and Gold Glove winner, Perez is a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, and first baseman Vinny Pasquantino just had the best season of his four-year major league career, hitting .264 with 32 homers and 113 RBIs.

It also follows a trend of royals keeping theirs. Each of these four players was signed and developed by Kansas City.

The Royals failed to make the playoffs last season, but they finished 82-80 for the first time since they made back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015. And with a talented pitching staff set to return and young position players on the rise, there is optimism that Kansas City can return to the postseason in 2026.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb