MLB Trade and Roster Rumors: Eric Hosmer Receives Seven-Year, $147-Million Offer From the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals have just upped the ante to keep All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer in the fold.
Citing an anonymous source close to Hosmer, USA Today's Bob Nightengale has reported that the Royals have offered the four-time Gold Glove winner at first base a seven-year, $147-million deal to bring him back to Kansas City.
Hosmer has a seven-year, $140 million offer on the table from the San Diego Padres as well, per Nightengale.
"The length of the proposals were confirmed by high-ranking members of the Padres and Royals, but they declined to divulge the total guarantee, or whether opt-out provisions or buyouts are in the offers," Nightengale said in his report.
Those offers are simply massive and it shows that small-market teams are willing to spend big to get their man. But Nightengale has noted that Hosmer is looking for an eight-year or nine-year deal, and it's not known if the Royals and Padres are willing to give him what he wants.
Many would assume that the Royals have the edge here if the offers were this close. After all, he did spend his entire career with the club after they made him the third overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. However, his connection with the club doesn't really guarantee that he would choose to return to the Royals.
"Free agency isn't just a chance for a player to get a big payday, it's his opportunity to choose where he wants to play instead of being told. The nearly identical deals might just make this harder: with neither team offering significantly more money, the decision rests purely on Hosmer's preference," Liz Roscher wrote in his column for Yahoo Sports.
Aside from the Royals and Padres, the St. Louis Cardinals are also said to be interested in signing Hosmer.
