Royals Reach Deal With Minor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Left-hander Mike Minor and the Kansas City Royals have finalized an $18 million, two-year deal, reuniting the 32-year-old starter with the club that helped him revive his career.

The contract includes a $13 million club option for 2023 with a $1 million buyout.

The 32-year-old Minor split 2020 between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics, going 1-6 with a 5.56 ERA and diminished velocity after posting the best numbers of his career a year earlier. In 2019, he was 14-10 with a 3.59 ERA and struck out 200 batters for the first time in his career.

A first round pick by Atlanta in 2009, Minor spent five seasons in the Braves’ rotation before a torn labrum in his left shoulder kept him out of the majors for two years.

The Royals signed Minor to a two-year deal following surgery, allowing him to spend 2016 rehabbing before using him successfully as a reliever in 2017.