KC Royals: Is Extending Danny Duffy the Right Decision
The KC Royals are apparently in talks with starting pitcher Danny Duffy on an extension between the two sides. Is this the right move for the Kansas City Royals?
The 2016 MLB season officially came to a close last week and the Kansas City Royals are already on top of trying to retain some of their better players. The first one up not hitting free agency is Danny Duffy.
Duffy pitched extremely well in 2016 and was the bright spot for the team in a year filled with disappointments. Is retaining him the right decision though?
Look, we all adore Danny Duffy and what he brought to this team the past few years, but the guy has been an incredibly inconsistent pitcher during his tenure in the majors.
Duffy is the type of pitcher who will be off the charts one year and then do poorly the following year. He’s also had surgery in his young career and that could be something tricky to keep in the back of Royals fans’ minds.
Source tells me #Royals, Danny Duffy have begun preliminary talks on contract extension. There is mutual interest. https://t.co/SlXzVciSAc pic.twitter.com/NO1YtJRdy6
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) November 4, 2016
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t be upset with either decision that’s made regarding Duffy.
On the one hand, he was the team’s ace in 2016 after being in the bullpen for the first month and a half. He then rose up to the ranks quickly in the rotation and broke the franchise record for amount of strikeouts in a game.
On the other hand, however, like I mentioned above, Duffy has been inconsistent in his career. He had a nice year in 2014 and then we all expected that same guy to return in 2015 and he tanked. This year he didn’t even start the year in the rotation.
I've been told talks with Duffy are progressing well. Even heard a number thrown out. Five years, $40-$50 million with an option. #Royals
— David Lesky (@DBLesky) November 4, 2016
Having a dominant left-handed starter on your team is huge, which is why I do think that the Royals will decide to keep Duffy apart of the team. Will they be able to retain anyone else though?
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The end of 2017 will result in guys like Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, and Mike Moustakas, among others, becoming free agents.
Duffy is in that crowd, but the Royals don’t have the money to keep all of them and giving Duffy that kind of a deal might seal the fate of the rest of those guys.
Jeffrey Flannagan of MLB.com mentioned that Duffy does want to stay in Kansas City, which is always nice to hear.
"“I want to stay with the Royals long term,” Duffy said. “One-hundred percent. For sure. You can quote me on that.”"
Danny Duffy had a 12-3 record last year with a 3.51 ERA in 42 total games (26 starts) and 179.2 innings. Duffy’s never shown that he can eat up a ton of innings, which has been a problem for the 27 year old lefty. In fact, his 179.2 innings in 2016 were the most pitched in his career.
If the Royals make some type of deal with him, they need to make sure they protect themselves against injuries. They can’t afford to get locked into a bad contract.
What do you think, Royals fans? Should the KC Royals offer an extension to Danny Duffy?