Royals sign popular lefty Duffy to new five-year, $65 million contract

The Royals and Danny Duffy have agreed to a $65 million, five-year contract that will keep the popular left-hander in Kansas City.

Duffy will make $5 million this year, $14 million in 2018, $15.25 million each in 2019 and 2020 and $15.5 million in 2021.

Duffy was eligible for arbitration this offseason and would have been eligible for free agency after the World Series. Now, he will remain with the team that chose him in the third round of the 2007 amateur draft, helped him to recover from Tommy John surgery and gave him a chance to be a World Series champion.

■ CUBS: Chicago players filed into the White House East Room on Martin Luther King Day for President Barack Obama’s final ceremony for a championship sports team.

Even sweeter for Obama is that the Cubs hail from his hometown.

The president has a home in Chicago and is a White Sox fan. He rooted for the Cubs after the Sox failed to reach the playoffs.

■ BLUE JAYS: A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that outfielder Jose Bautista and Toronto are “working really hard” to bring him back to the club.

The sides are discussing one-, two- and three-year agreements.

The 36-year-old Bautista hit 22 homers with 69 RBIs last year while batting .234 in an injury-slowed season.

■ PHILLIES: Outfielder Michael Saunders and Philadelphia agreed on a $9 million, one-year contract.

MLB Network reported Saunders has an option for 2018 worth $11 million with escalators that can make it reach $14 million, and the deal includes a $1 million buyout.

A 2016 AL All-Star with Toronto, Saunders hit a career-best 24 homers and batted .253 with 57 RBIs last season.