Backloaded Hammel deal pushes Royals payroll to around $135 million

The Jason Hammel deal was made official on Wednesday following his physical, with terms of the deal being released. According to reporter Rustin Dodd, Hammel will earn $5 million in 2017, $9 million in 2018, and will get a $2 million buyout on his mutual option in 2019.

The deal was backloaded to fit under a tight payroll that was supposed to go down following last year’s franchise-record $137 million payroll. As it stands, this year’s payroll looks to be about the same, come Opening Day.

Figures from Cot’s Contracts.

I included probable salaries for Alburquerque and Parnell should they make the club, although I have not seen official figures released for them. You can also expect those non-arbitration eligible players to receive salaries slightly higher than the league minimum of $535,000.

This payroll also does not include the $3.25 million owed to the estate of Yordano Ventura, an obligation that still has to be determined. The Royals also have $6 million owed in buyouts to Edinson Volquez, Kendrys Morales, Kris Medlen, and Luke Hochevar that might be applied to this year’s payroll.

The Royals may still want to add bullpen depth, and may have interest bringing back relievers Luke Hochevar and Peter Moylan, who are both still free agents.