Royals sign Twins castoff Jose Mijares for $925,000 - MLB

Non-tendered by the Twins last week, Jose Mijares has quickly found a new home in the AL Central.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the 27-year-old reliever has agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals, who plan to use him as a left-handed specialist.

Mijares had a terrible 2011 season, walking 30 batters in 49 innings, but was very effective in the previous three years and has a 3.16 ERA in 154 career innings.

Minnesota soured on Mijares to the point that they cut him loose rather than pay what would’ve been a modest $750,000 or so salary via arbitration, but it’s not surprising that he almost immediately landed another big-league contract.

UPDATE: Mijares’ deal is worth $925,000, so he actually ended up with a raise.

LOS ANGELES — All-Star pitcher Tony Gonsolin and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed on a two-year, $6.65 million contract that avoided an arbitration hearing.

Gonsolin gets $3.25 million this year and $3.4 million in 2024.

His salary in the second season can escalate by up to $3 million based on a points system in which he will be credited one point for each start, or each relief appearance of 3 1/3 innings: $500,000 apiece for 14, 16, 18, 20, 24 and 28 points. The 2024 salary also would increase by $1,125,000 for winning a Cy Young Award this year, $625,000 for finishing second or third in the voting and $500,000 for finishing fourth or fifth.

The sides exchanged salary proposals on Jan. 13, with Gonsolin seeking a raise from $720,000 last season to $3.4 million this year, while the Dodgers offered $3 million.

The 28-year-old right-hander was 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 24 starts during a breakout season last year. Gonsolin earned his first All-Star selection with an 11-0 record and a 2.02 ERA in the first half. He finished with the highest winning percentage (.941) in franchise history.

Gonsolin has been with the Dodgers for parts of four seasons since being drafted in the ninth round out of Saint Mary’s College in 2016. He is 26-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 59 career games.

He helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series during the pandemic-shortened season.