Royals sign Mike Moustakas to one-year deal

Mike Moustakas and Kansas City have agreed to a one-year contract that keeps him with the Royals and guarantees the third baseman $6.5 million, according to multiple reports.

Rustin Dodd with the AthleticKC also reported the news and said the team isn't looking to go longer than a one-year deal.

The deal is so cheap that I kept waiting for Passan to say he had made a typo and that Moustakas was getting $15.5 million in 2018 rather than $5.5 million.

While Moustakas' weakness is clear - never has he walked more than 43 times in a season, and his career on-base percentage is.305 - the notion of him not receiving a multiyear deal at the beginning of the offseason was nearly inconceivable. But he found the interest of many other teams dimmed because a deal would have required compensation such as a loss of draft picks and/or worldwide signing bonus allotment.

Mike Moustakas is reportedly close to rejoining the Royals.

The 29-year-old Moustakas, ranked seventh in Yahoo Sports' Ultimate Free Agent Tracker, comes off a year in which he broke the Kansas City Royals' single-season record for home runs with 38.

The Royals signed Lucas Duda and Jon Jay in the last week for the same reason - to ensure that players who are still trying to establish themselves in the major leagues aren't overexposed in a young lineup. If a deal gets done, Moustakas will slide back in at third base with Cheslor Cuthbert returning to a utility role. Club appears unlikely to go more than one year.