The Kansas City Royals have locked up the left side of their infield for the considerable future after agreeing to a five-year contract extension with third baseman Maikel Garcia on Friday, a source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic.
The deal includes a club option for a sixth year in 2031 and was first reported by ESPN.
Source confirms: Royals in agreement with 3B Maikel Garcia on five-year extension with club option for sixth year. First: @JeffPassan
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2025
Garcia, 25, is coming off a breakout season in which he was both a first-time All Star and Gold Glove winner. He’ll man the hot corner next to All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who signed a 14-year contract extension in 2024, giving Kansas City one of the more tantalizing shortstop-third base combos in the American League.
Garcia appeared in 160 games for Kansas City last season, setting career highs in home runs (16), slugging percentage (.449) and OPS (.800).
MLB.com reported that Garcia is guaranteed $57.5 million, though the club option and escalators could get it up in the $85 million range. This guarantees Garcia life-changing money and secures him and Witt for the rest of the decade at a reasonable rate. Garcia’s breakout season was well-timed, coming just as he enters the arbitration system as a Super Two player. Coming off a five-WAR season and with that extra year of arbitration earnings, he could have earned anywhere from $35 million to $45 million before hitting free agency. Of course, the downside is that any significant injury or regression back to the two-WAR player he’d been before 2025 would lower those earnings dramatically.
Assuming Garcia averages out to a four-WAR player moving forward, the extension thus buys out one free-agent season for between $16 million and $20 million or two for as much as $45 million, depending on the escalators and the club option. For Kansas City, the modest length here mitigates much of the risk, protecting it against that potential regression. The overall guarantee is smaller than deals for Andrés Giménez and Yoan Moncada, players with similar track records who struggled to live up to the extensions.
Garcia’s extension is the second significant move in two days for the Royals. The club, which had been looking to add to its outfield, agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal with center fielder Lane Thomas on Thursday, per league sources.
Adding one more outfielder is believed to be on the Royals’ radar. Kansas City ranked 29th in outfield OPS last season, and providing depth and experience alongside Jac Caglianone remains a priority.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
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