Alex Gordon: My heart has always been in Kansas City

Alex Gordon couldn't conceive of playing anywhere but Kansas City.

The three-time All-Star agreed to a four-year, $72-million deal to remain with the Royals on Wednesday, after sitting on the free-agent market for a little over two months.

"I just want to say my family and I are very happy to be back in Kansas City," Gordon told reporters. "We were very appreciative of the other teams that showed interest but at the end of the day, my heart will be, and always has been, in Kansas City.

"My desire was probably a 10 to come back here. Coming back here and being in the locker room put a smile on my face because I didn't know if that was going to happen."

Gordon was among a number of highly coveted free agents, with the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, and St. Louis Cardinals among the teams with varying levels of interest.

It was reported late last month that the Royals didn't have a chance to meet Gordon's salary demands. The outfielder later publicly refuted those claims, however, and backed it up by re-signing with the club.

"Do my instincts tell me that Alex took less money to come here? Yeah, that's what my instincts tell me," general manager Dayton Moore said. "But I don't know that for a fact, and that's between Alex and his family."

The return of Gordon fills a major hole for the reigning World Series champs, who lost key contributors Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist this winter. Though the four-time Gold Glove winner was limited to 104 games last year, he's hit .267/.348/.428 with 52 home runs, 79 doubles, and 203 RBIs in 416 games over the past three seasons.