KC Royals Decline Options on Jeremy Guthrie and Alex Rios

One day after the KC Royals and Kansas City threw the biggest party in Kansas City history, it’s already back to business for the Royals. The team has declined the options of pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and right fielder Alex Rios.

The Kansas City Royals are World Series champions after defeating the New York Mets in five games. While fans obviously wish that this team could be around forever, that doesn’t happen in MLB. Major League Baseball is a business, and with that said, the Royals decided to decline the options of Jeremy Guthrie and Alex Rios, according to ESPN.

This shouldn’t be surprising to Royals fans. As much as we adored Guthrie for his leadership and the fact that he enjoyed being a Royal when the team was still nothing, it was time for the team to part ways with him.

Had Guthrie been a member of this team next season, he’d have been making $10 million. That’s way too much to spend on a guy who likely wouldn’t even be in the starting rotation. Instead, Kansas City will pay Guthrie the $3.2 million buy-out.

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After being the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series last season, Guthrie didn’t have a great year in 2015. He ended the regular season with a 5.95 ERA in 30 games (24 starts) and an 8-8 record. He allowed 29 home runs, which was the second most he allowed in his career (the most being 35 in 2009 when he was with the Orioles).

Guthrie eventually was demoted to the bullpen and failed to make an impact there. He was not on the 25-man roster for the playoffs.

Alex Rios, on the other hand, was only tied to Kansas City for a year, but had a mutual option for next season worth $12.5 million. Obviously shelling out $1.5 million to Rios was the smart decision for the Royals.

The Alex Rios era in Kansas City wasn’t a beautiful one, but it yet again leaves a gap in right field that the Royals will look to fill during the off season. Rios was on fire at the beginning of the season, smashing a three-run homer on opening day, but failed to regain that momentum after missing a month of the season due to injury.

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Rios ended his 2015 regular season campaign with a .255 batting average, 32 RBI, 22 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He had an impressive postseason run though, batting .271 with 13 hits, six runs, two doubles, one home run,  six RBI, and one stolen base. He had a .368 batting average in the ALCS against his former team, Toronto.

There are obviously still chances of the Royals deciding to re sign these guys to different deals, but I wouldn’t count on it. The Royals should use the money saved in this situation to attempt to get Alex Gordon back in Kansas City next season.

Next: 2016 Free Agency Options for the Royals

Thanks for all you did for Kansas City J-Guts and Rios! We’ll always remember you for being a part of the best team in Kansas City Royals history.