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Royals Rumors: Mike Moustakas signs deal with Royals

By Leigh Oleszczak

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals reacts to striking out in the fourth inning against the New York Mets during Game Five of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field on November 1, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals reacts to striking out in the fourth inning against the New York Mets during Game Five of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field on November 1, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Well, the last of the Royals rumors has been resolved and it’s resulted in Mike Moustakas coming back to Kansas City on a one-year deal.

Not many of us expected Mike Moustakas to be the big free agent returning to the Kansas City Royals this season, but here we are. Moose is a Royal once again and the feeling is up in the air among the fan base.

This offseason was weird for MLB free agency, with Eric Hosmer just signing a deal a few weeks ago and Moose being unemployed until Thursday evening. No one would have guessed that it would have taken that long back when the World Series was still going on.

So, what is Moose getting for his services this year? Well, according to Jeff Passan, Moustakas is signing a one-year deal with a mutual second-year option. He can earn up to $22.5 million, but is only guaranteed $6.5 million.

It has to be a little frustrating for Moustakas, who rejected the qualifying offer from the Kansas City Royals when it was extended to him earlier in the offseason. He’s now signing a deal less than what that qualifying offer was worth. Obviously no one expected this type of market, but that has to sting quite a bit.

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With this signing, what will the 2018 season look like for the Royals? They now have signed Lucas Duda, Jon Jay, and Moustakas, three veteran players, when this was supposedly going to be a rebuilding year.

Cheslor Cuthbert needs to display whatever he can this season, but he’s out of options. He has to spend some time at third base because there’s really no other option for the guy. This was supposed to be his year.

Moose could be used as a designated hitter this year, but I highly doubt the Royals use him in that role a lot. Could Cuthbert also be used at first base? At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked with whatever the team decides to do with Cuthbert.

I like Mike Moustakas and it’ll be nice to have one familiar face back from that core group of free agents (sorry Alcides Escobar), but this just didn’t seem like a necessary move. This is a very confusing offseason for the Kansas City Royals and now you have to wonder if they’ll be as bad as many of us thought they’d be this season.

Let’s see where Dayton Moore is going with this, but right now, I’m legitimately confused by this offseason. What do you think of this signing, Royals fans?

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