KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Royals general manager J.J. Picollo made it clear after a 106-loss season that Kansas City was in desperate need of pitching.
On Tuesday, they landed someone to start games and another to help finish them.
The Royals agreed with right-hander Seth Lugo on a $45 million, three-year deal to fill one of their open spots in the starting rotation, then landed reliever Chris Stratton on a $4 million deal, two people with knowledge of the contracts told The Associated Press. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals were pending physicals.
Lugo is coming off a strong season with the Padres, where he went 8-7 with a 3.57 ERA while proving he could be a full-time starter during what amounted to a prove-it year in San Diego. The 34-year-old started early in his career but had largely worked out of the bullpen with only occasional starts during his first seven seasons with the New York Mets.
After driving up his value, Lugo declined his $.7.5 million player option with the Padres for next season and became a free agent.
The Royals have been trying to find help for a starting rotation that has struggled the past few seasons. They filled one big hole midway through last season when they acquired Cole Ragans from the Rangers for reliever Aroldis Chapman, and they hope that Brady Singer can bounce back after a poor season while Jordan Lyles can continue to eat innings.
The Royals also have been searching for help in the bullpen. On Monday, they announced the signing of left-hander Will Smith to a $5 million deal that includes bonuses for innings pitched in the hopes that he can finish out games. Stratton should give them a bridge from their starters to Smith and the rest of the back end of the bullpen.