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Royals, Bobby Witt Jr. Have Had “Some Talks Here And There” About Extension

By Mark Polishuk | November 11, 2023 at 3:34pm CDT

While the Royals’ rebuild hasn’t gone to plan overall, Kansas City does have at least one cornerstone in Bobby Witt Jr.  The second overall pick of the 2019 draft has lived up to the hype in his young career, fully breaking out with a 5.7 fWAR season in 2023 that saw Witt hit .276/.319/.495 over 694 plate appearances with 30 homers, 49 stolen bases (in 64 chances), and a league-high 11 triples.  The public defensive metrics are rather unusually split on Witt’s glovework, but at least in the view of the Outs Above Average metric, Witt’s +14 number makes him one of sport’s best defensive shortstops, to boot.

The future is very bright for the 23-year-old, and some level of discussion seems to have taken place between Witt and the Royals in regards to how much of that future will be in K.C.  Witt told Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star that “I think there is some talks here and there” in regards to a possible contract extension, “so we’re just kind of waiting to see.  I love this organization and love this team.  It’s just kind of one of those things.  If the time is right, the time’s right.”

Players and teams usually tend to keep contract negotiations quiet, especially since things between Witt and the Royals might still be somewhat in the embryonic stages.  As Thompson noted, Royals GM J.J. Picollo said last month that the club was “working on” extending Witt, and that “it would be exciting to do so, as he is a special player.  We want to keep special players in our uniform.”

To this end, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal hears from a source that the Royals are “at least entertaining the idea of approaching Witt” about an extension at some point this offseason, which implies that no formal offers have been issued or perhaps even floated towards Witt’s representatives at Octagon.  It is worth noting that there isn’t a big ticking clock on either side to fully delve into talks, as Witt is under team control through 2027 and won’t even be eligible for salary arbitration until next winter.

That said, Witt’s price tag will only increase as time goes by.  Witt is already looking at a sizeable set of increasing salaries through his arb seasons, so the Royals would surely like to gain some cost certainty for those years at the minimum.  If a larger-scale extension can’t be worked out, Witt and the Royals might explore a shorter-term deal covering just the arbitration seasons, akin to the three-year extension Bo Bichette signed with the Blue Jays last spring.

Even that type of extension would be a relatively pricey endeavor for a Kansas City franchise that has never been big spenders.  Salvador Perez’s four-year, $82MM extension prior to the 2021 season remains the largest contract in franchise history, and a long-term deal for Witt might be at least twice that amount, depending on the number of years covered.

For instance, the Rays inked Wander Franco to an 11-year, $182MM extension after Franco’s 2021 rookie season, which consisted of 70 MLB games.  Like Franco, Witt was also a heavily hyped shortstop prospect, but Witt now has two full productive Major League seasons under his belt, so it would seem like Octagon could surely argue that a Witt extension deserves to top Franco’s deal, and approach or top the $200MM mark.  The Braves’ Austin Riley inked a ten-year, $212MM extension when he was between two and three years of MLB service time.

Though the Rays have shown a (comparatively) greater inclination to spend lately, we haven’t yet really seen how far the Royals are willing or able to stretch their payroll under owner John Sherman.  On the one hand, Perez’s extension did take place under Sherman’s watch, as part of a relative spending spree during the 2020-21 offseason that also saw a four-year extension for Hunter Dozier, as well as two-year free agent deals for Mike Minor and Carlos Santana.  All of these moves were made with the intent of boosting what the Royals thought was a group of youngsters on the verge of a breakout, yet the team has continued to struggle.  This cost former president of baseball operations Dayton Moore his job in 2022, elevating Picollo from second-in-command to the head of the decision-making pyramid.

Some other big-picture issues cloud the financial picture.  While the bankruptcy of the Diamond Sports Group has yet to impact the Royals’ broadcasts on Bally Sports, Sherman said last spring that naturally the organization was monitoring the situation should the Royals’ TV rights payments suddenly come into question.  As well, Sherman has been trying to get a new ballpark built in Kansas City, and in some instances, owners claiming that a new stadium is critical to a team’s ability to compete don’t want to perhaps undercut that argument by then spending $200MM on a player’s contract.  That said, Rosenthal argues in the other direction, writing that a Witt extension “might help sway public sentiment” to get the ballpark project off the ground.

Even if K.C. probably aren’t going to be huge players in the offseason transaction market, the possibility of a Witt extension stands out as a notable subplot to watch — both for its importance on the Royals’ future, and as a benchmark for future extensions.  Even if the two sides are in the proverbial “talking about having some talks” phase of negotiations, expect things to get at least a little more serious as we get deeper into Spring Training, as teams tend to focus more on extensions once their offseason business is complete.

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Kansas City Royals Bobby Witt Jr.

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24 Comments

  1. Curly Was The Smart Stooge

    2 years ago

    If you dont extend Witt, you are Witless

    6
    Reply
    • mlb fan

      2 years ago

      Until the Royals come up with a better, more cohesive business plan, extending anyone really won’t matter. It’s like plugging a single hole on a ship when you’ve got 5 other holes that cannot be plugged. It’s only a matter of time until the ship sinks.

      1
      Reply
      • C Yards Jeff

        2 years ago

        Him being there has not helped move the attendance needle. IE sparked fan interest. Why extend?

        1
        Reply
      • rememberthecoop

        2 years ago

        Yeah, but you got to start somewhere, and locking him up would be a great start.

        1
        Reply
        • mlb fan

          2 years ago

          They might start by drafting & developing guys a lot better, not randomly signing a single guy to a long term deal. Just 1 man’s opinion I guess.

          1
          Reply
    • rememberthecoop

      2 years ago

      Bada Bing Bada boom!

      Reply
  2. Mikenmn

    2 years ago

    “As well, Sherman has been trying to get a new ballpark built in Kansas City, and in some instances, owners claiming that a new stadium is critical to a team’s ability to compete don’t want to perhaps undercut that argument by then spending $200MM on a player’s contract.”

    The logic of this is interesting. Sherman wants the city/state to give him him a huge slug of free money (he’s not the only one”) so he has to decide whether he ties up a star, to show his commitment to a putting on quality product, or demonstrate how poor he is….

    2
    Reply
  3. LordD99

    2 years ago

    Don’t sign, get out of KC, go for the huge money.

    2
    Reply
    • Four4fore

      2 years ago

      He’s gonna be around until they win with him or they have to start paying him.

      Reply
  4. Jack Marshall

    2 years ago

    That Wander Franco signing has sure panned out well…..

    1
    Reply
    • Hemlock

      2 years ago

      But you can’t predict how a grown man will play with children or adolescents.

      2
      Reply
      • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

        2 years ago

        EEEEWW

        2
        Reply
    • Buzzz Killington

      2 years ago

      They’re off the hook for all the money if he never comes back so it was actually an ok deal. Now if the Ray’s don’t spend big for a while they can say we’re willing to we just haven’t gotten the right opportunity.

      Reply
  5. This one belongs to the Reds

    2 years ago

    If they don’t sign him, they will have to give a Witt…to someone else for what they can get. So of course they will try to extend him.

    Reply
  6. Buzzz Killington

    2 years ago

    Yeah if the Royals SOLD when they should have the rebuild would be over.

    Reply
    • hiflew

      2 years ago

      The previous rebuild took about 20+ years. I don’t think that extra season of trying to win really set them back any. And I am almost positive that the rebuild would not be over.

      1
      Reply
  7. Tdat1979

    2 years ago

    Until the Royals have a winning season an extension makes no sense.

    2
    Reply
  8. jorge78

    2 years ago

    But their owner keeps crying poor…..

    2
    Reply
  9. acoss13

    2 years ago

    I say they should extend him. Aside from Salvador Perez, what real money are they committed to for the next three seasons? That fanbase deserves to be rewarded with a great player that is both young, and can possibly be a piece to a playoff spot. Royals don’t have to win the division, they just have to squeeze into a Wild Card spot. Not saying it’s happening in 2024, but he’d be a great piece to have locked down.

    2
    Reply
  10. Downtheline802

    2 years ago

    “Here and there” is unacceptable. KC needs to pay this young man the big bucks this offseason similar to what JRod got in Seattle. Witt Jr. has top 3 league talents and with KC rumored to get a new stadium this is a must sign for their future.

    2
    Reply
  11. Gumbercules

    2 years ago

    Should be same as Andres Gimenez’ contract. I wouldn’t want him for anything more. Unless I feel he will become more selective.

    Reply
  12. DodgerOK

    2 years ago

    He should not sign long-term. They have no intention of spending to be competitive.

    1
    Reply
  13. TLB2001

    2 years ago

    I don’t understand what negotiations are happening here:

    Sherman: Bobby, how much would you like?
    Bobby: *inaudible*
    Sherman: you got it!

    Problem solved.

    Reply
  14. KCMOWHOA

    2 years ago

    Need to extend or trade him before 2025. He’s only going to get more expensive and have less years of control the longer they wait. If they were forward thinking they might’ve inked him early like Atlanta does but he probably has no reason to sign long term

    Reply

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