Royals expect Jeremy Guthrie to hit free agent market

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is expected to go out and test the free agent market. The Royals are now saying that a contract will not be reached with Guthrie before he becomes a free agent:

"I think it's pretty safe to say he's going to explore free agency," general manager Dayton Moore said. "We'll continue to monitor how that goes. He's going to explore his options, and it's important that we do as well."

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"It's a negotiation," Moore said. "Right now, the logical conclusion is we're still working for a comfort level. We have to be (interested in him). Anybody who improves our rotation, we have to be interested in.

Guthrie joined the Royals on July 20 after being acquired from the Colorado Rockies, and during his time with the Kansas City he had a record of 5-3, had a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts. For his entire 2012 season, Guthrie had a losing record of 8-12 with an ERA of 4.76 and had 101 strikeouts.

The issues over the contract are that the Royals do not want to go more than two years, since Guthrie will be 34 this April. Guthrie is looking for a three-year deal, and this past year earned $8.2 million.

Guthrie will officially be a free agent the day after the final game of the World Series, but the Royals will have an exclusive five-day negotiating period.