KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ned Yost strode through a ballroom inside Bartle Hall, where the Royals were having their annual fan festival, unsure of who will be in his lineup when spring training begins next month.The often-crusty manager was smiling, anyway.The reason was twofold: Yost is excited about the future of the organization, which is expected to rebuild around a wave of young players after the old core became free agents, and he's feeling good after a terrifying fall from a hunting stand last November left him with a broken pelvis and other injuries."I'm still supposed to be in a wheel chair right now," Yost said, "so I'm way ahead of schedule."Yost was checking the stands on his Georgia farm when one of them suddenly buckled, sending the avid outdoorsman on a perilous 20-foot drop. The fracture pelvis led to so much bleeding that surgeons wondered whether he would survive, and four broken bones only complicated the healing process.For weeks, the only movement Yost was allowed was... [More]

RHP Jason Hammel permitted three runs on six hits over six innings in a no-decision. He did not allow a hit after James McCann's double in the third inning. Hammel finished his first season with the Royals with an 8-13 record and 5.29 ERA after winning 15 games last year with the Cubs. "I felt like I didn't really trick anybody this year," Hammel said. "A sub-par year for myself, individually. I did some good things and some bad things, too. I fell short of expectations for myself. It was disappointing."

RHP Jason Hammel fell to 8-13 after surrendering seven runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Hammel is 0-3 with a 12.78 ERA in his last three starts in which he has allowed 18 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. Hammel is 4-7 with a 5.67 ERA in 15 road starts this season.

RHP Jason Hammel (8-12, 5.05 ERA) will try to end his losing streak at two games Friday against the White Sox. He took the loss against the Indians on Saturday when he matched his season high by allowing seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in six innings. He is 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 11 career games (six starts) versus the White Sox. He is 4-6 with a 5.14 ERA on the road this season.

RHP Jason Hammel gave up seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits, in six innings as his record fell to 8-12. "The first three innings it was a struggle for him, but he was really good in the fourth and fifth," manager Ned Yost said.

RHP Jason Hammel will start Saturday vs. Cleveland. His last start against the Indians came Aug. 26, when he retired the first 16 batters he faced, and then gave up three home runs (C Roberto Perez, DH Edwin Encarnacion and 1B Carlos Santana) in a seven-batter span over the sixth and seventh innings, en route to a 4-0 loss.

RHP Jason Hammel collected his eighth victory by limiting Detroit to two runs in six innings on Wednesday. He had given up at least three runs in his previous four starts but has still won three of his past four outings. Hammel walked two batters, ending a streak of nine consecutive starts in which he didn't issue more than one. That was longest such streak of his career.

RHP Jason Hammel (7-10) recovered from a slow start against Minnesota on Friday to keep the Royals in the game in an eventual victory. Hammel allowed a two-run homer by Jorge Polanco in the first but settled in and lasted 6 1/3 innings. He ran into trouble in the seventh and was relieved by Brandon Mauer. Hammel ended up allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out three batters.

RHP Jason Hammel, who starts Friday at Minnesota, is 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in three starts this season against the Twins. He has walked only 18 in his last 98 1/3 innings.

RHP Jason Hammel was perfect for five innings, but then came the sixth. After retiring the first 16 batters he faced in a row, Hamel gave up a single and a home run in the sixth inning, and two home runs in the seventh. "He was phenomenal for the first five innings. His stuff was dead spot on," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We weren't doing anything. He (Hammel) was going right through us," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Then, fortunately, he got a couple balls up and we didn't miss them."

RHP Jason Hammel is 3-0 in three starts against the Indians this year. He picked up his first home victory since June 19 against the Red Sox. Hammel worked a spotless opening inning, striking out two. He has a 1.44 ERA in the first inning, allowing four earned runs in 25 innings. He has limited opposing batters to a .202 average with runners in scoring position.

RHP Jason Hammel allowed four runs on eight hits, including a season-high three home runs, over six innings for a no-decision during the Royals' 10-8 loss to Oakland on Tuesday night. He struck out six, walked one and pitched at least five innings for the 14th straight start.

RHP Jason Hammel pitched well at St. Louis but couldn't survive the sixth inning after his pitch count soared to 103, and the Kansas City bullpen quickly flushed his chance for a win down the rabbit hole. Hammel gave up just three hits and two runs in five-plus innings, walking one and fanning seven as he used his breaking ball to wipe out hitters. He has allowed three or fewer runs in seven consecutive starts.

RHP Jason Hammel gets the start Thursday night when Kansas City finishes up its four-game home-and-home series in St. Louis. Hammel last pitched Friday night in a 5-2 home loss to Seattle, allowing three runs off six hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings and fanning three, extending his stretch in which he's given up three or fewer runs to six straight starts. He's 4-6 with a 5.68 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cardinals.

RHP Jason Hammel suffered his first loss since July 7. He allowed three runs on six hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings. "I thought he threw the ball really well," Royals manager Ned Yost. "The first two innings his timing was off. He was drifting off the rubber. He made the adjustment in the third inning and really locked in. I thought he pitched extremely well. The one pitch I think he wished he could have back was the slider to (Guillermo) Heredia right at the end (a RBI-double). He elevated it a little bit, more than he wanted to. He ended up getting the loss, but man what a game."

RHP Jason Hammel earned a win in Sunday's series finale against the Red Sox, giving up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. Hammel (5-8, 4.75 ERA) is the first Royals starting pitcher to log a start of at least seven innings since July 15. "We need to do that a lot more. That's our job, to go deep," Hammel said.

RHP Jason Hammel, 4-8 with a 4.81 ERA who hasn't won in six starts since beating Boston on June 19, faces the Red Sox in the series finale Sunday. He is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in those six starts but has held the opposition to three or fewer runs in nine of his last 10 starts and is third in the league in opposition batting average with runners in scoring position. The veteran is 2-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 14 games (seven starts) against the Red Sox, going seven innings and allowing two runs against Boston in Kansas City in his last win.