JOURNAL SPORTS
KANSAS CITY – Seth Lugo was one of the hot candidates to be swapped by the Kansas City Royals before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline Thursday.
No longer, according to multiple national media reports, first by ESPN.
The Royals are reportedly polishing a multi-year contract extension for Lugo, a soon-to-be 36-year-old right-hander who was an American League All-Star in 2024 and last season’s AL Cy Young Award runner-up, along with winning a Gold Glove in his breakout season.
Lugo, a Parkway High graduate and former Centenary pitcher, has rocketed to stardom in the past two seasons.
The reported deal is a two-year extension beginning in 2026, with a vesting option that is performance-based for 2028. It is valued at a guaranteed $46 million.
In the reported deal, Lugo will receive $20 million each of the next two seasons with a $3 million signing bonus. The vesting option is worth $20 million or a club option for $17 million with a $3 million buyout.
Lugo is nearing the end of a two-year, $30 million contract with Kansas City but holds a $15 million player option for 2026. Considering his 2.95 ERA this season, he was expected to decline the option and become one of the top free agent starters available this offseason.
The Royals had not confirmed the reports Sunday night. Despite speculation he was on the block, or at least had strong interest by several other teams including the Chicago Cubs, the Royals weren’t eager to trade Lugo, who signed with Kansas City as a free agent in 2023. He is regarded as a pivotal figure in the Royals clubhouse.
In 52 starts in Kansas City, he owns a 2.98 ERA, the best in franchise history among those that have made at least 50 for the Royals, according to MLB.com.
A 10-year MLB veteran with a career 63-45 record, 16 saves, nearly a strikeout an inning, and a 3.33 ERA, Lugo has not yet thrown 1,000 big league innings. He was a spot starter and mostly middle reliever with the Mets before hitting free agency after the 2022 season and signing with San Diego, where he took a spot in the starting rotation and flourished, leading to his deal with Kansas City.
Lugo was a 34th-round 2011 MLB Draft pick. At Parkway, he made the All-District 1-5A team as a pitcher and also hit six home runs and led the team in RBI. As a Centenary pitcher, he finished his three-year college career with an 8-13 record and a 5.36 ERA, but increased his fastball speed into the low-90s and caught the attention of some scouts.
Lugo pitched 46.2 innings in rookie ball, but missed the 2012 season after undergoing spinal fusion surgery. He returned to pitch in the minor leagues in 2013 and worked his way up, finally getting his chance in MLB in 2016 at age 26.
In addition to his MLB honors during and after last season, Lugo won the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl’s Carl Mikovich Sportsperson of the Year Award.