KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Royals and third baseman Hunter Dozier have agreed to a $25 million, four-year contract that includes a fifth-year option, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical. ESPN.com was first to report the extension, which buys out two years of free agency and includes several escalators and bonuses. “As I've said many times, we want to keep as many of our talented players as we possibly can,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the team reported for full-squad workouts in Surprise, Arizona. “We'll always look to do that when the opportunity is right.