The Royals have signed first baseman Lucas Duda to a one-year, $3.5 million contract.
Duda, an inexpensive Eric Hosmer replacement, hit .217/.322/.496 with 30 homers and 64 RBI last year between the Mets and Rays. It’s a weird batting line, bolstered by some pretty darn good hitting in New York (129 OPS+ in 291 plate appearances) but some less-than-great performance in Tampa Bay (96 OPS+ in 200 plate appearances with the Rays).
Over the course of his career he’s hit far more like his Mets performance than his Rays performance. If he comes close to that, the Royals got themselves a bargain.
