Royals, Dozier agree to $25 million extension
The Royals and third baseman Hunter Dozier have agreed to a $25 million, four-year contract that includes a fifth-year option, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical. ESPN.com was first to report the extension, which buys out two years of free agency and includes several escalators and bonuses.
“As I’ve said many times, we want to keep as many of our talented players as we possibly can,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the team reported for fullsquad workouts in Surprise, Arizona. “We’ll always look to do that when the opportunity is right. There is a rhythm to that, there is a timing to all those decisions.”
The 29-year-old Dozier has long been considered a cornerstone of the Royals rebuild, especially after a breakthrough 2019 season in which he hit 26 homers, tied for the American League lead with 10 triples and drove in 84 runs. But he missed the start of last season with COVID-19 and wound up hitting just .228 with six homers and 12 RBI in 44 games.
Still, the Royals believe Dozier will revert to form with a full spring training and 162-game season.
“I definitely don’t think you throw it away,” he said. “It’s a learning experience. It’s a season we hopefully never have to go through again. I think it was the hardest mental season we’ve been through. I mean, 60 games – there’s a lot of pressure in a 60-game season. Normally you play 162. You have time to go through slumps. A 60-game season, you don’t have time for that, as a team and as an individual. So I’m looking forward to a normal season.”
Dozier is also looking forward to a consistent spot in the everyday lineup. He has regularly moved between first base, third base and right field the past few years, but the signing of longtime Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana coupled with a trade for Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi means Dozier will primarily play third base this season.
Pham says he’s lucky to be playing: San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham said Sunday morning that he is lucky to be alive after being stabbed in the back outside a San Diego strip club in October.
Pham, who said he’s about 80% recovered and is in the lineup for the team’s first spring training game, needed 200 stitches to close a deep wound.
“The doctor here basically told me that if I wasn’t so muscular, I might be dead or paralyzed,” Pham told reporters via Zoom. “So I’m lucky to even be able to play. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play again.”
Pham, 32, was stabbed in the lower back during an altercation in the club’s parking lot on Oct. 11. He has sued Pacers Showgirls International for suffering “catastrophic injuries, which have and will continue to cause him significant economic damage, including but not limited to his earning capacity as an elite professional baseball player,” according to the lawsuit.