Ahead of Friday’s 1 pm arbitration deadline, the Kansas City Royals announced they have agreed with four players on 2024 salary numbers. Before the deadline, the team needed to agree to contracts with Brady Singer and Carlos Hernández. In addition, the newly acquired Nick Anderson and Kyle Wright are both eligible for arbitration and need to reach a contract agreement. Earlier this offseason, the organization came to terms with Taylor Clarke, Josh Taylor, and Kris Bubic to avoid salary arbitration. Last season, the team failed to agree to a contract with Brady Singer. Instead, they ended up going to arbitration hearings. The team eventually won their case. This time, the Royals have agreed with all four remaining players and won’t head to any arbitration hearings this winter.
The dollar amounts all seem expected. MLBTradeRumors released their 2024 arbitration projections earlier this offseason. Singer’s final mark came in just under his projection, as did Carlos Hernández. Kyle Wright agreed at $1.8 million, slightly over his $1.4 million projection. Wright, of course, will miss the 2024 season with injury but the team is hopeful he will return for the 2025 season. With these final numbers now on the books, the projected payroll for the Royals looks to be around $110 million. That mark is more than $30 million above where the team sat on Opening Day last season. The last time the Royals fielded an Opening Day payroll north of $100 million was in 2018.
Next up for the Royals this offseason, the international signing period kicks off on January 15. The team has already been linked with a few notable prospects. Shortstop Yandel Ricardo, ranked as the number 16 overall international prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, headlines that list. He’s a 17-year-old shortstop out of the Dominican Republic. Pipeline calls his swing compact, with easy power from the right side.
Ricardo is a strong, physical infielder with a chance to be an impact power bat in the future. He is a natural right-hander but has hit from the left side since he was young. The teen prospect now flashes power potential from both sides of the plate and could evolve into an offensive threat as he progresses.
The Royals will have $7,114,800 to spend on international free agents in this year’s signing class.