Royals Sign Star SS Bobby Witt Jr. to 11-Year Deal

(Photo : (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)) KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 28: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals watches as his ball ruled as a home run is overturned to a double during the 6th inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on July 28, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri

With the news of an 11-year contract extension for young super star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr, things are finally looking up for the Kansas City Royals.

The 2014 runners-up and 2015 World Series Champions have been lost in the wilderness ever since that title. A lack of resources, paired with poor drafting and development have kept the Royals near the basement of the American League for the last eight or so years.

But things are finally starting to turn around in Kansas City, as one of the few major successes to come out of their drafting in recent memory is sticking around.

Witt Jr. was the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, and his rise to being one of the game's premier shortstops has been a quick one.

How High Can Bobby Witt Jr.'s Star Rise?

Witt Jr. is coming off of an age-23 season in which he slashed .276/.319/.495 while clubbing 30 homers and finishing in 7th place in American League MVP voting.

He also stole 49 bases, meaning the only real comparable for the Royals star in terms of a combination of speed and power is Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr. The latter broke out for his MVP campaign last year with 41 homers and 73 stolen bases, so Witt Jr. still has a long way to go to match those numbers, but Acuña's rise came as he finally cut down on his strikeouts.

Witt Jr. did that from 2022 to 2023, and if he can continue that progress, his offensive value will skyrocket similar to the way Atlanta's star's did.

Factor in that Witt. Jr plays the most premium defensive position at a high level, and the sky's the limit.

With Shohei Ohtani out of the AL and Aaron Judge well into his 30s, we're not far off from the AL MVP race constantly featuring Witt Jr. as a frontrunner.

The AL is in good hands with Witt Jr, Seattle's Julio Rodriguez, Houston's Yordan Alvarez, and multiple young stars in Baltimore poised to trade MVP runs over the next decade.

What Does This Mean For the Royals?

This move means almost everything for the long-term outlook of the Royals. One of the downfalls of the MLB world in recent years has been the lack of regularity that comes with being a fan of a small market team.

Your team drafts a player and they turn out great. Awesome! Except when about a year and a half into that, the speculation immediately ramps up as to when they can be expected to join the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, or whatever other big-money franchise could use their talents.

Now, the Royals are in full control of how Bobby Witt Jr. leaves the team, and they have a good chance to make sure he never does.

The deal, which is the largest the Royals have ever signed by a monstrous margin, takes him to age 34, and it buys out a minimum of three free agency years before Witt Jr. can opt out after years 7-10.

If ownership has an inkling that Witt could be leaning toward opting out or decides the $35 million price tag to be too much, they have years to orchestrate better options in handling his future.

In the end, it will all come down to how good of a job the team can do building around him. If they can build a winner, Witt Jr. is sure to go down as an all-time great for the franchise. If they don't, they have years of control of who is sure to be one of the most valuable trade chips in the game to kickstart the next version of a rebuild.