Royals Rumors: KC offers Eric Hosmer a team record contract

The latest Royals rumors come from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who is reporting that the Kansas City Royals have made a big offer to Eric Hosmer.

The painfully slow MLB offseason might be playing right into the hands of the Kansas City Royals. This morning’s Royals rumors are coming from Bob Nightengale of USA Today. He is reporting that Kansas City has offered Eric Hosmer a 7-year, $147 million contract. That would be the biggest contract ever handed out by KC.

It seems like this is something we have been building up to ever since the first reports of a slow market for Eric Hosmer. As teams chose other options, Hosmer’s free agency value was ultimately going down. Currently the only reported interest in the All-Star first baseman has been from the Padres, Cardinals, and of course Royals.

This is certainly a bold stroke by Kansas City GM Dayton Moore. It’s a sign that this organization hasn’t given in to the idea that it’s time to go into a drastic rebuild. Eric Hosmer would certainly become the central figure in a KC lineup that looks to feature a lot of their younger talent.

Big Money In A Small Market

If these Royals rumors are correct, it would actually be following a recent KC trend though. With Dayton Moore running the franchise, and a couple of World Series visits, it seems that owner David Glass is more willing to spend big. Kansas City has also handed out large contracts to Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez in recent years.

Now don’t expect the Royals to turn into the Yankees. This team isn’t just going to go out and start buying off major free agents. However, the fact that they are so willing to invest in their current stars is a major parting of ways from what many of us remember. Kansas City is not simply becoming a farm system for the rest of the league.

Keeping Eric Hosmer in Kansas City sends a message to everyone in the organization. It lets the players know that this team isn’t going to just let all of its star talent walk out the door. For a team that has the chemistry of the Royals, that is not something that should be underestimated.

More Work To Be Done

While re-signing Eric Hosmer would be huge, that’s just a single step. However, if the latest Royals rumors are to be believed, Kansas City may not be done yet. There have been some rumblings that either (or both) Mike Moustakas or Lorenzo Cain could also end up back in KC. That would be a huge score for the Royals front office.