The Kansas City Royals have just announced a contract extension with second baseman Whit Merrifield that will guarantee him $16.25MM over the next four years. The contract will cover Merrifields last pre-arbitration year and his three arbitration years as well as give the Royals a club option for what would of been his first year of free agency. The breakdown of the contract is Merrifield will earn salaries of $1MM, $5MM, $6.75MM, and $2.75MM. The club option for 2023 is valued at $10.5MM and comes with a $750k buyout if the Royals decline it. There is also $2MM worth of escalators in the contract revolving around plate appearances and awards. All told, Merrifield can earn $28.75MM over five years if the club option is picked up and he reaches all the escalators.
Merrifield, 30, has taken a little longer then most to get to the big leagues but has definitely made the most of his time there and shown he belongs. After being drafted in 2010, Merrifield did not see his first action in the big leagues until his call up in 2016. That season Merrifield appeared in 81 games and batted .283 over 332 plate appearances while seeing time in the field at five different positions and DH. Over the last two seasons Merrifield has played mostly second base appearing in 240 games at the keystone between 2017-2018 but has also moved around the field when needed as well. Merrifield has some pop as well as hits for average and has very good speed which is shown in him leading the AL in stolen bases in 2017 and 2018 with 34 and 45 steals respectively. Last season saw him not only lead the league in stolen bases but also lead the AL in hits with 192 while maintaining a .304 batting average.
The deal from the Royals side of things is very team friendly for the budget conscious club. As a team in the middle of a rebuild, Kansas City is not looking to make big splashy acquisitions but instead deals like this one to lock up their own home grown talent. It is not only smart but will help the franchise financially when it comes time to contend. This particular contract is beneficial for both sides as the team gets financial flexibility and Merrifield gets the security of a guaranteed contract since he does not have a lot of big league experience under his belt. It is definitely an interesting case that we do not see very often because normally by age 30 players are either becoming free agents, already signed big contracts, or have not panned out at the major league level. Merrifield does not seem like he will be slowing down anytime soon but the age is the big factor here for both sides and it appears that they have both found common ground with this contract.
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