KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals’ front office announced on Thursday that the team has signed left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas to a four-year deal. Vargas went 9-8 in 2013 while pitching in 24 games for the Los Angeles Angels with a 4.02 ERA.
The Royals will be Vargas’ fifth stop in his major league career. He broke in with the Miami Marlins in 2005 where he finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting. He has also pitched for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and Angels. He eclipsed 200 innings in 2011 and 2012 and is known as a reliable middle of the rotation pitcher. His 217 + innings in 2012 were the most for a left-handed pitcher.
He’s not known for being an overpowering, strikeout pitcher. He averages 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings and tries to keep the ball on the ground. The Royals will hope that he improves on his batters average with balls in play (BABIP), which was up sharply from .255 in 2012 to .313 in 2013. He customarily does a good job of keeping the ball in the park and only allows 1.1 home run per nine innings pitched on average.
The deal is believed to be worth $32 million over the four-year term. The move is the first of a few that the Royals are looking to make this off-season with holes still left to fill at second base and in right field.
