Royals sign Moustakas to 1-year contract

Mike Moustakas is heading back to Kansas City, as the veteran third baseman agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals that was officially announced Saturday. It's reportedly worth $6.5 million and includes a mutual option for 2019, sources told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

Moustakas will earn $5.5 million this season, with another $2.2 million available through performance bonuses, and his $15-million mutual option for 2019 includes a $1-million buyout, according to Passan. All told, if his option is exercised and he hits all his bonus thresholds, Moustakas - who rejected a one-year, $17.4-million qualifying offer from the Royals in November - can reportedly earn $22.7 million over the next two years.

Earlier this week, Moustakas' job prospects looked bleak, and his agent, Scott Boras, even suggested the 29-year-old might be willing to sit out the beginning of the season to secure what he feels is a fair contract. Quickly, however, talks with the Royals reignited, and Moustakas will continue his career with the only team he's ever played for.

Selected second overall by Kansas City in the 2007 draft, Moustakas has been a fixture in the Royals' lineup for the better part of the last decade, earning two All-Star nominations in his seven-year run with the club while serving as an integral part of their American League pennant run in 2014 and World Series championship the following year.

In 2017, after missing most of the previous season with a torn ACL, Moustakas belted a career-high 38 home runs while managing an .835 OPS (114 wRC+) and 2.2 WAR in 148 games. Since making his big-league debut in 2011, Moustakas owns a .730 OPS (96 wRC+) while averaging 17 homers and 23 doubles across 119 games per season.