KANSAS CITY -- The Royals reportedly have added a piece to their rotation by agreeing with right-hander Jason Hammel on a two-year deal for a guaranteed $16 million.The club has not confirmed a deal.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement, while Jeff Passan of Yahoo! reported the finances. 
Kansas City was known to have had interest in Hammel, 34, for several weeks.Hammel, who went 15-10 last season with the Cubs with a 3.83 ERA, will join a rotation with Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas and Nathan Karns.The deal, which likely is backloaded, will push the Royals' payroll to more than $140 million. Kansas City's payroll last year was near $145 million, and management was instructed to trim the payroll for 2017, something that now appears to have been achieved only marginally.However, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week after signing Brandon Moss that the team likely had one more deal to make prior to Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13.Hammel, in essence, will take the spot of Yordano Ventura, who was tragically killed in a car accident Jan. 22.
Jeffrey Flanagan/ MLB.com
Kansas City was known to have had interest in Hammel, 34, for several weeks.Hammel, who went 15-10 last season with the Cubs with a 3.83 ERA, will join a rotation with Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas and Nathan Karns.The deal, which likely is backloaded, will push the Royals' payroll to more than $140 million. Kansas City's payroll last year was near $145 million, and management was instructed to trim the payroll for 2017, something that now appears to have been achieved only marginally.However, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week after signing Brandon Moss that the team likely had one more deal to make prior to Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13.Hammel, in essence, will take the spot of Yordano Ventura, who was tragically killed in a car accident Jan. 22.
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