Seth Lugo Extension Figure Revealed: Why Royals Got A Major Bargain

Seth Lugo agreeing to a new contract was an unequivocal win for the Kansas City Royals.

It looked for weeks as though the Royals would have a tough decision to make. For all intents and purposes, Lugo looked headed for free agency this winter, and the Royals, who have hovered around .500 all year, would have had to decide whether or not to trade him by Thursday's deadline.

But Lugo apparently loves Kansas City so much that he was willing to forego the open market to take an extension to remain with the Royals, canceling out his $15 million player option for next season and tying him to the club for longer.

Now that we know how much longer, we can reasonably say the Royals got a bargain.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the contract is for two years, $46 million, with a vesting option for 2028. MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk later confirmed that the 2028 season is a $17 million club option with a $3 million buyout unless the vesting option hits, which would up the salary to $20 million.

No one is denying that $46 million (could be $66 million) is a lot of money. But based on Lugo's performance, and based on where the starting pitching market was last season, the Royals did very, very well for themselves.

All one has to do is look at the contracts Nathan Eovaldi and Sean Manaea got from the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, respectively. Those were both three-year, $75 million contracts, and both pitchers were in their mid-thirties as well, though Lugo is entering his age-36 season, which is a year older than Eovaldi was and three years older than Manaea.

Plus, Lugo is coming off a Cy Young Award runner-up, something neither Eovaldi nor Manaea has ever done, and owns a sparkling 2.98 ERA in the last two years since coming to Kansas City.

We can't say with certainty that there was more money out there for Lugo, but it sure seems like a likely conclusion. It's a big win that he loves pitching in Kansas City so much that he was content to stay there without hearing what other teams had to say.

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