Royals Reach Agreement With Omar Infante

The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms with second baseman Omar Infante, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.  Infante’s contract is for four years and $30 million. The New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds were also interested in Infante, who turned down a three-year deal from the Yankees for $24 million.

Infante, who will turn 32 in two weeks, is coming off a fine season. He hit .318/.345/.450 with a career-high 117 wRC+. His 3.1 fWAR was also a career-best mark. However, with the acquisition of Ian Kinsler through the Prince Fielder trade, it was clear that the Detroit Tigers would not bring back Infante. 

After spending most of his first five seasons as a utility player, Infante has been a solid regular for the last four years. He’s produced a .295/.327/.415 mark at the plate while playing solid defense.

While he doesn’t hit many home runs, he’s not entirely without pop, and his 10.8 percent strikeout rate is one of the lowest in the major leagues. Furthermore, he plays solid defense. All together, he’s produced 10.3 fWAR in the last four years, which is in between bigger names such as Rickie Weeks and Dan Uggla.

The move represents a significant upgrade for the Royals. Their second basemen combined for a .240/.296/.306 line in 2013 with just 1.2 fWAR. While he performed well for them since coming over from the Toronto Blue Jays, projected starter Emilio Bonifacio has averaged just 1 fWAR per 600 plate appearances for the course of his career. Adding Infante to the starting lineup allows Bonifacio to move to the bench where the Royals can take advantage of his speed and defensive versatility without exposing his bat to the rigors of everyday play.

Steamer projects Infante for a .288/.325/.407 line in 2014 with a 101 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR. That’s a solid-average player, and at $7.5 million per year, the Royals are paying below the market rate for him.