Report: Royals 'Entertaining' Idea of 'Monster' Bobby Witt Jr. Contract Extension

The Kansas City Royals are not a big-market team, but they reportedly might act like one when it comes to signing shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a significant contract extension.

"After free-agent shortstops Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson agreed to contracts for a combined $957 million last offseason, the Royals' chances of signing Bobby Witt Jr. to a monster extension seemed rather slim," Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote.

"They still might be. But the club is at least entertaining the idea of approaching Witt, according to a source briefed on the team's plans but not authorized to discuss them publicly."

Kansas City surely wants Witt as a franchise cornerstone, but it also doesn't necessarily have to rush a decision on his contract.

After all, he is not scheduled for unrestricted free agency until after the 2027 season. There is some value to getting out ahead of a contract decision, both for team morale and from a financial perspective if the expectation is deals will only continue to get larger, but the Royals don't have to panic and trade him if they cannot come to terms on a deal this offseason.

Keeping him long term would be ideal for the American League Central club.

Witt is just 23 years old and is coming off a career season that saw him slash .276/.319/.495 with 30 home runs, 96 RBI, 49 stolen bases and a league-best 11 triples. There is very little he cannot do offensively with his combination of power and speed.

While his defense could still use a bit of work, he took significant strides in that area last year as well.

According to FanGraphs, he was responsible for minus-18 defensive runs saved above average at shortstop as a rookie in 2022. However, he improved that to just minus-six in his second season.

If he continues on that trajectory, Witt could be among the league's top shortstops in the coming seasons.

And those seasons will all be with the Royals if he signs an extension.