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Comeback continues: Chris Young gets one-year deal from Royals

Comeback continues: Chris Young gets one-year deal from Royals

The offseason of veteran pitcher Chris Young was an interesting one. Coming off a season in which Young earned American League Comeback Player of the Year honors while pitching for the Seattle Mariners, his market remained remarkably quiet until Saturday, when he inked a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals.

Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports that Young will receive a $675,000 base salary, but the deal also includes $5.325 million in possible incentives. In other words, Young did it once in 2014. Now the 35-year-old right-hander has to prove he can do it again in order to get paid. And by do it again, we mean stay healthy, first foremost.

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Young's contract includes a $1 million bonus just for making the opening day roster, and then the next set of incentives kick in when he reaches five starts and 30 innings pitched. Those are low thresholds, but considering Young was out of baseball all together in 2013 and topped 20 starts last season for the first time since 2007, it's understandable why teams weren't willing to guarantee more.

Young will also have a difficult time cracking the Royals starting rotation. Despite losing James Shields to the San Diego Padres in free agency, Kansas City is five deep with Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Jason Vargas, Edinson Volquez and Jeremy Guthrie all healthy and in camp. At this point, Young appears to be an insurance policy more than anything, though general manager Dayton Moore was confident Young would break camp with the major league team.

“He will make the team out of spring training,” Moore said. “Right now, if things go to script, our rotation is probably cemented with the main five guys, so his role at this point would be as a middle guy, a long guy."

“But we felt we needed to add some depth with some starting rotation help. He’s a pitcher we’ve admired, and he’s got a chance to throw some very impactful innings and be a strong part of our pitching staff.”

Knowing how quickly things can change, having that depth is essential, even if it means stashing a veteran like Young in an unfamiliar role.

“At this point in my career, and with my health, I feel absolutely confident in my ability to perform,” Young said. “I’m not worried about the role. Pitching is pitching. Once you take the ball, you go out there and compete, and that’s what I look forward to doing.”

All answers you love to hear from an incoming veteran, but it will definitely be an adjustment considering he's made just one relief appearance out of 189 major league games.

As for his outlook, Young was undeniably solid last season, posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 165 innings. But he's not without concerns, particularly surrounding his 108/60 K/BB ratio. Given that he's also predominantly a flyball pitcher, the more contact he allows the better chance more of those hits will find gaps or land over the fence. Last season, he allowed 26 home runs, which tied for fifth most in MLB.   

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Of course, as Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan points out, if he was going to sign anywhere, going to Kansas City may give Young his best shot to survive again.  

As the Royals proved last season, speed and defense can cover shortcomings and carry teams through rough stretches better than any other remedy. Kauffman Stadium playing like a big park helps his cause as well, but if Young hopes to reach his bonuses, he'll definitely need to keep the ball down or miss a few more bats.

“He had a terrific year last year,” Moore said. “He’s had some injury history in the past, but he has tremendous makeup. At the end of the day, you bet on those players who are great competitors, great workers and overcomers, and Chris has been able to do that.”

Moore is definitely confident, but only time will tell if that confidence is rewarded.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!