The Royals and third baseman Mike Moustakas have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year contract worth $14.3 million, the AP reports.
Moustakas, 27, is coming off a career year in 2016, as he batted .284/.348/.470 (120 OPS+) with 22 home runs and 34 doubles in 147 games. Moustakas also grades out as a plus defender at third. For his career, Moustakas owns an OPS+ of 91 across parts of five big-league seasons. He'll be eligible for free agency following the 2017 season, when this new contract expires. The deal does not buy out any of Moustakas' free agent years but does provide the Royals with some cost certainty during his remaining arbitration years.
In 2016, the CBSSports Fantasy projections tab Moustakas for a line of .258/.319/.436 with 24 homers in 589 at-bats.
