Right-hander Kelvin Herrera has agreed to a two-year, $4.15 million contract with the Royals, avoiding arbitration for this season and next season.
As a “Super Two” qualifier Herrera has four total seasons of arbitration eligibility, so he’ll still be under team control for 2017 and 2018 once the two-year deal is over.
Herrera has emerged as one of the elite relievers in baseball since 2012, throwing 213 innings with a 2.45 ERA while ranking among MLB’s hardest-throwers. Last season he had a 1.41 ERA and 59/26 K/BB ratio in 70 innings while allowing zero home runs in 285 plate appearances.