"[Hosmer] is a very integral part of our team. He can impact the team in a lot of ways, whether it's at the plate or at first base defensively or running the bases. He can hit with power, he can hit the other way -- there's just a lot of talent in his game." Royals GM Dayton Moore (via MLB.com)
Baseball fans who watched the 2014 MLB postseason all know the Kansas City Royals do their best work in the late innings. Their front office is currently doing its best work in the late hours. That is, the hours before arbitration hearings.
Four days after agreeing to a last-minute, one-year deal to avoid arbitration with closer Greg Holland, they have locked up Gold Glove first baseman Eric Hosmer to a two-year deal. Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports the deal's value as $13.9 million with $5.65 million in 2015 and $8.25 million in 2016. The deal also includes modest incentives for earning All-Star nods, Gold Gloves, or a Most Valuable Player award.
Despite four seasons of over 125 games, Hosmer would still have one more arbitration-eligible season after this deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2018.
Eric Hosmer was drafted third overall in 2008 out of American Heritage (FL) High School, and he made the Majors by 2011 at the age of 21. He was one of the Royal Monsters of the 2014 the postseason, batting .351 with 2 HR and 12 RBI in 15 games. Hosmer's power is projected to grow with age (average 15 HR per season so far), and his defense is already the best at his position in the American League.
This deal seems to be another case in which both sides won. Hosmer gets a second year in excess of $3.5 million more than the first year, and he still has not turned 25. The Royals keep a major piece of their playoff-contending core group for two years without discussion, and they still have a third year of player control over that same rising star.