Royals and Whit Merrifield Agree to Restructured Contract

According to Alec Lewis of The Athletic, the Kansas City Royals and second baseman Whit Merrifield have agreed to a two-year, $10.25 million restructured contract.

With this deal, all of Whit Merrifield?s 2023 option is now guaranteed, a source tells The Athletic. Merrifield will now make $7M this season and $6.75M next season with a $18M mutual option for 2024 that includes a $500K buyout.

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) April 6, 2022

Merrifield’s new deal includes the Royals exercising his 2023 $6.75 million club option while adding an $18 million mutual option for 2024.

The 33-year-old initially signed a four-year, $16.25 million extension in 2019 and will earn a base salary of seven million for the upcoming campaign.

Merrifield appeared in all 162 games for the third straight season, posting a slash line of .277/.317/.395 with ten home runs, 97 runs scored, and 74 RBIs. The North Carolina native also finished second in the Majors with 40 stolen bases behind Starling Marte of the New York Mets.

While Kansas City is looking toward the future, as evidenced by yesterday’s news that number one overall prospect Bobby Witt Jr. has made the club’s Opening Day roster, Merrifield should continue to operate in an everyday role and be a valuable fantasy commodity once again.

FanDuel Sportsbook has Kansas City at +102 on the moneyline ahead of Thursday’s home opener versus the Cleveland Guardians.