The Kansas City Royals rewarded third baseman Hunter Dozier for his versatility and flexibility. They also made it very clear that they believe he’s poised to make good on the potential they saw in him when they drafted him, and continue the offensive production he flashed in 2019.
That belief formed the basis for a four-year contract extension that will guarantee Dozier at least $25 million and could be worth as much as $47 million with a team option for a fifth year and performance-based escalators.
The Royals announced the deal, which goes into effect this season, on Monday morning. The pact buys out Dozier’s remaining arbitration-eligible seasons (2021-23) and allows the club to keep Dozier, 29, from hitting free agency until after the 2025 season.
“I’m not a big fan of the business side of baseball,” Dozier said during a video conference call. “You grow up loving this game just because you love baseball, then as you get drafted the business side does come into it. And it’s a blessing because you can provide for your family.
“Now, I can kind of not think about the business side of baseball and just really focus on winning and having fun and doing whatever I can do to help that team win. And we’re going to do a lot of winning. I can promise you that.”
Dozier’s new contract includes a $1 million signing bonus and guarantees him $2.25 million in 2021, $4.5 million in 2022, $7.25 million in 2023 and $9 million in 2024, according to a source with knowledge of the contract details.
There’s a $1 million buyout if the club doesn’t pick up the fifth-year option. The escalators include bonuses for award recognition and surpassing set benchmarks for plate appearances over the next few seasons.
“As I’ve said many times, it’s our goal to keep as many of our talented players here together as long as we possibly can,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “Continuity, togetherness is so crucial if we’re going to win and have long-term success. To be able to create that is really important.”
The Royals drafted Dozier with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Stephen F. Austin State University.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed hitter debuted in the majors on Sept. 12, 2016. He has started games at third base, first base, left field and right field during his time in the majors.
He enjoyed a career year in 2019 when he posted a .279/.348/.522 slash line along with 26 homers, 84 RBIs, 10 triples, and 75 runs scored in 139 games.
That season, he became the first Royals player to record at least 25 doubles, 10 triples and 25 home runs in a season — just the fifth MLB player to do so in the previous 30 seasons.
“He can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Moore said. “We work extremely hard to put an offense together that can score runs in multiple ways. Hunter can do that, obviously, with the bat. He can do that with his legs, his instincts. He can take a walk. There’s a lot of different things he can do to help an offense generate runs.”
Dozier seemingly secured his place as the club’s everyday third baseman in 2019.
However, last season he moved off third base in order to accommodate the free-agent signing of Maikel Franco. Dozier went into last spring training slated to start in the outfield. By the end of the season, he’d also made 24 starts at first base.
