Billy Butler all set to play for the Kansas City Royals
Billy Butler recently made the headlines and the issue at hand was nothing more than a contract signing that found the player and the Kansas City Royals out of a potential arbitration panel. The hard hitting veteran made the deal count as he signed on for
another 4 years extending to a possible fifth, if an option is taken up by the club in 2015. The valuation of the signing is apparently worth $30 million and an extra $12.5 million for the vested option.
The signing comes to the forum even when there is possible word of pressure building on the leading hitter. General Manager Dayton Moore seems particularly happy to find the batter back at the club.
"It's been a focus of our baseball operations department, certainly a focus of the Glass family, to keep our good, young, talented players here long term," Moore said. "And Billy, as you all have enjoyed watching him play over the last few years, has really
separated himself as one of the premier young hitters in the game."
The cost, however, is the lack of playing mates at the club. Zack Greinke, David DeJesus and Gil Meche are not in the roster anymore. However, that doesn’t scare Butler or put him in a peculiar situation. There are a lot of prospects in the club and while
there is word of burden rising on the shoulders of Butler and closer, Joakim Soria, the situation doesn’t change anything.
Butler has carried the expectation and weight of performing since he was drafted in 2004. The pressure at the side doesn’t hinder his determination to play well and contribute important runs to club.
"Every single at-bat, people expect me to do great things," he said. "Baseball's a game of failure, and it's how you handle that. Obviously, nobody's perfect and you're trying to handle that better each time. I've just had the good fortune of having the
pressure from Day 1 and learning how to deal with it."
Butler would love to play at the first baseman position which is set to be handed over to Kila Ka’aihue, if he comes over to Kansas. The situation, however, is one where nothing is certain. The Royals have a good crop of prospects showing up. If Kila doesn’t
join in, Eric Hosmer would be moving in with the bat. The benefit, however, would be that Butler and Hosmer play with different hands. Both could share their time there.
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