Veteran right-handed pitcher Dillon Gee signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on Monday, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Gee, a five-year veteran with the New York Mets, can opt out of his deal on March 2—well before the start of the season—if he’s not on the Royals’ 40-man roster, though Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca speculated that’s unlikely:
Gee reportedly turned down major league offers from other teams in favor of a chance to play for the defending World Series champions, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted that Gee can capitalize on generous incentives—particularly for a minor league deal:
Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but Passan alluded that for for Gee to fully capitalize, he’ll likely need to be a full-time starter throughout the season and/or log somewhere near his career-high 199 innings from two years ago.
He’ll certainly get a nice pairing with the Royals’ outstanding bullpen, which has arguably been its postseason catalyst in its consecutive American League pennant wins.
Gee was 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA in 39.2 innings last year, but he was the team’s ace in 2013, logging a career-high 199 innings with a 3.62 ERA, 1.281 WHIP and 12-11 record.
Gee lost his spot in the Mets’ 2015 rotation to Noah Syndergaard and was eventually was designated for assignment, then sent to Triple-A after not being claimed off waivers. He didn’t even receive a September call-up when rosters expanded, and declared free agency at season’s end.
Clearly, Gee has his sights set on winning a ring—especially after leaving the Mets before last season’s pennant run—and should be a viable veteran presence in a healthy clubhouse atmosphere.
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