Kris Medlen gets two-year deal from Royals after Tommy John surgery

With ace James Shields ready to move on this winter, the Kansas City Royals are ramping up efforts to add depth to their starting rotation. On Wednesday, they announced a two-year, $20 million deal with veteran right-hander Edinson Volquez. On Thusday, they stayed busy, announcing a two-year, $8.5 million deal with former Atlanta Braves starter Kris Medlen.

Both deals definitely carry some risk and reward for Kansas City. As the Stew noted on Wednesday, in Volquez's case it's performance based following a somewhat surprising and possibly unsustainable bounce-back season in 2014. In Medlen's case, it centers almost entirely around health. In March, the 29-year-old right-hander underwent his second Tommy John surgery in four years.

It's an interesting "tale of two deals" if you will. Though it's very clear the Royals have applied lower expectations and therefore greater logic to Medlen signing. According to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, Medlen's contract is backloaded — he'll earn $2 million in 2015 and $5.5 million in 2016 — and loaded with incentives — he can earn up to $10 million over two seasons — almost assuring they'll get value. They also have a mutual $10 million option for 2017.

What they're hoping for, obviously, is a return to the field at some point in 2015 and more impactful contribution in 2016 and perhaps beyond. That's consistent with the usual recovery time from Tommy John surgery, though obviously things can be different when it's a second Tommy John.

It's not a bad gamble to take. After undergoing the procedure in 2010, Medlen bounced back to produce a 2.47 ERA over 84 appearances between 2011-13. Of his last 44 appearances, 43 have been starts, including a 12-start stretch to end 2012 where Medlen allowed only nine earned runs and the Braves never lost. His ERA as a starter was a consistent 2.46.

The Royals won't need or expect Medlen to be that good since he's being paid like a backend starter in today's market. With guys like Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas around, in addition to Volquez, they'll be fine if he tops out as such. But the upside is obviously enticing. If it's reached, the Royals are a deeper better team, and general manager Dayton Moore will have some added flexibility for down the road.

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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! Follow @Townie813