Report: Royals agree to 1-year, $5.25M deal with Billy Hamilton

The Kansas City Royals are finalizing a one-year contract with speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

The contract will pay Hamilton $5.25 million, plus another $1 million in incentive clauses, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

Completion of the reported contract is pending a physical, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore confirmed during an interview with MLB Network Radio's Jim Duquette on Monday that he has had discussions with Hamilton but didn't specify how close the sides were to an agreement.

"What I would say ... is that we're working towards hopefully (coming to) an agreement with him," Moore said. "He fits our ballpark. We covet that speed.

"We've got to get an impact center fielder, and he can really go get the ball. And hopefully we can come to an agreement, and maybe get that done."

Hamilton became a free agent last month when the Cincinnati Reds didn't tender him a contract. Last season, he slashed .236/.299/.327 over 153 games, hitting four homers and 29 extra-base hits while collecting a career-low 34 stolen bases. He did continue to flash an excellent glove in center field, saving four runs defensively while being named a Gold Glove finalist at his position.

The 28-year-old's calling card remains speed. From 2014-17, Hamilton averaged 58 steals a year, and his 277 swipes are the most in baseball since 2013. Despite his high stolen-base totals, Hamilton has never led the NL in that category, finishing in second place during each of his five full big-league seasons.

Hamilton is a career .245/.298/.333 hitter (70 OPS+) with 21 homers, 161 RBIs, and 277 stolen bases, and has only been caught stealing 63 times. Defensively, he's saved 51 runs over his career and has also collected 52 outfield assists.