Royals add speed, outfield depth and experience with OF Jarrod Dyson’s return to the team
The Kansas City Royals made it official on Friday night: Outfielder Jarrod Dyson will be coming home.
Dyson, a left-handed hitting speedster, has signed a one-year contract to return to the organization that drafted him and the place where he won a pair of American League pennants as well as a World Series championship in 2015.
Dyson’s deal will pay him $1.5 million plus another $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Dyson will turn 37 in August. The Royals drafted him in the 50th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He last played for the Royals in 2016.
From 2010 through 2016 as a member of the Royals, Dyson slashed .260/.325/.353 and stole 176 bases while being caught stealing 30 times. He hit 48 doubles and 29 triples during that stretch and appeared in 550 games with 1,365 plate appearances.
Since his first full season in the majors (2012), Dyson has recorded a 84.9 percent success rate on stolen base attempts (236 for 278). That’s the best rate in the majors among players with a minimum of 100 tries during that span.
He has played in 21 career playoff games, including 19 with the Royals from 2014-15.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore and Dyson are expected to speak with reporters on Saturday.
The Royals 40-man roster currently includes 38 players following this signing.
