The Royals have signed left-hander Danny Duffy to a five-year, $65 million extension, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.
Duffy, who recently turned 28, was slated to become a free agent after the 2017 season but has long expressed interest in staying with the Royals on a long-term basis. Kansas City has shown interest in extending both Duffy and first baseman Eric Hosmer, though it’s unclear if the club has made any progress with Hosmer to this point.
Kansas City entered this offseason a year away from the potential departures of Duffy, Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Wade Davis and Jarrod Dyson, and locked up Duffy after dealing away both Davis (Cubs) and Dyson (Mariners) within the last two months.
Duffy was solid for Kansas City last season, posting a 12-3 record and 3.51 ERA in 42 appearances (26 starts) in his sixth major-league season. The southpaw has turned in a career 36-33 record and 3.71 ERA in 134 career appearances (106 starts) since being drafted as a third-rounder by the team in 2007.
With Duffy locked up, the Royals have a rotation core secured for the next few years. Duffy (through 2021), Ian Kennedy (through 2020) and Yordano Ventura (through 2021) join Jason Vargas, Nate Karns, Chris Young and Matt Strahm as starting options for the club this season.