Royals rumors: KC interested in Guthrie, but may have to wait

The Kansas City Royals have great interest in bringing back right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, but may have to wait until the rest of the free agent market unfolds to work out a deal with him, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star:

Don’t expect a quick resolution to the Royals’ efforts to retain free-agent pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. All signs point to Guthrie waiting for Zack Greinke and Anibal Sánchez to set the offseason market for starting pitchers.

"I think he’s looking at other opportunities, and we’ll see where that goes," said general manager Dayton Moore…

"It’s hard to predict what is going to happen with a lot of these guys in free agency. It only takes one or two clubs…He’s looking to get the best deal."

As reported Wednesday, Guthrie is seeking a deal in the range of three years and $34 million. That number may go up or down, however, depending on the prices that Greinke and Sanchez agree on for their new deals this winter.

Guthrie, 33, had nice second half for the Royals after a rocky start with Colorado, finishing his season with a 3.16 ERA in fourteen starts with Kansas City after returning to the American League on July 20.

A nine-year major league veteran, Guthrie has spent all but the first half of this past season pitching in the AL. The right-hander owns a 4.28 ERA and 5.4 K/9 in just over twelve hundred innings in his nine big-league seasons.