Brady Singer loses arbitration hearing against Royals

The Royals have defeated starter Brady Singer in arbitration, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). The right-hander will make $2.95M this year rather than his group’s desired $3.325M.

Singer, 26, qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player. He’ll be eligible for the process thrice more over the coming winters, with the Royals keeping him under club control through 2026. The arbitration loss means he’ll start from a slightly lower platform salary than he’d hoped as he progresses through that process, with a $375K gap in the sides’ respective filing figures.

A former first-round draftee, Singer has started 63 of 66 games at the big league level. His performance over his first couple seasons was solid but the Royals nevertheless kept him in the bullpen to open last year. Within a few weeks, they’d optioned him out to build back up as a starter in Triple-A Omaha. That decision prevented Singer from gaining a full service year in 2022, extending the Royals’ window of club control by another season.

That extra year he’ll spend in Kansas City now looks quite valuable. Singer had a breakout showing, working to a 3.23 ERA across 153 1/3 innings. He struck out opponents at an above-average 24.2% rate, induced grounders at a quality 49% clip and limited walks to a meager 5.6% mark. Singer is arguably the best pitcher on the K.C. roster and certainly enters the upcoming season without a question about his role in the starting five.

The Royals have Zack Greinke and Jordan Lyles locked into spots behind Singer on the depth chart. Offseason signee Ryan Yarbrough, Daniel Lynch, Brad Keller and Kris Bubic are among those who could vie for starts at the back end. Singer was the lone arbitration-eligible player on the K.C. roster who didn’t agree to terms prior to the Jan. 14 filing deadline; the team’s arbitration business for this winter is complete.