The Kansas City Royals own Major League Baseball's best farm system and now they've ensured at least one of their young talents will be there to see it mature. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports the Royals gave Butler a four-year, $30 million contract.
Butler had filed for $4.3 million in arbitration and the Royals countered with $3.4 million but that doesn't matter now that three years of his arbitration eligible years and one year of free agency have been bought out.
As MLB Trade Rumors points out, Butler is clearly one of the league's best young hitters.
Butler, 25 in April, has hit .309/.375/.480 with 36 homers over the last two seasons. Just 28 players boast an OPS that high during that time (min. 1,000 PA), but Evan Longoria, Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki, and Butler are the only ones to do so at age 25 or younger. Clearly, the Royals' first baseman has emerged as one of the game's most dangerous young hitters.
And now they've got him for four more years.
With Gil Meche's retirement, the Royals had an extra $12.4 million to deal with which takes some of the financial pressure off of this deal.
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