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The Kansas City Royals<\/a> announced that they have agreed to terms on a contract for the 2026 season with right-hander James McArthur<\/strong>, therefore avoiding arbitration. He will make $810K next year, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n McArthur, 29 next month, showed huge promise a few years ago but is a big wild-card now. He debuted with the Royals in 2023 by tossing 23 1\/3 innings. His 4.63 earned run average wasn\u2019t especially impressive but his 25.6% strikeout rate, 2.2% walk rate and 58.7% ground ball rate were all excellent. A tiny 54.5% strand rate seemed to inflate his ERA, which is why he had a 2.78 FIP and 2.65 SIERA.<\/p>\n That got him some run as the closer in Kansas City to begin 2024 but his results backed up. He tossed 56 2\/3 innings that year with a 4.92 ERA. His 5.7% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate were still good but moved in the wrong direction, while his strikeout rate fell to a subpar 19.8% clip. He landed on the injured list in September due to an elbow sprain.<\/p>\n At some point in the 2024-25 offseason, he underwent surgery to repair a fractured olecranon in his right elbow, with two screws inserted. In July, Rogers<\/a> reported that he wasn\u2019t responding well to the screws, so they were removed. He didn\u2019t pitch in any official game action for the year.<\/p>\n Though McArthur spent the entire 2025 season on the IL, he got his service time count up to two years and 150 days. That was just a bit past this year\u2019s Super Two cutoff<\/a>, there qualifying him for arbitration. Since he missed so much time, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz<\/a> projected him for a salary of just $800K, barely above next year\u2019s $780K league minimum. Despite the modest projection, his uncertain health status made him a candidate to be non-tendered<\/a>. Friday at 5 p.m. EST is the non-tender deadline.<\/p>\n Instead of moving on, the Royals will keep McArthur around and hope for better health and a bounce back. Perhaps that bodes well for his health outlook in the coming season, though they aren\u2019t risking much by agreeing to a salary barely above league minimum. McArthur still has an option and doesn\u2019t need to be kept on the big league roster.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n