Alex Gordon is returning to the Royals. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City is still celebrating the World Series championship, but the Royals could be on the verge of saying goodbye to three players.
Left fielder Alex Gordon declined his $14 million player option, the club passed on a $12.5 million mutual option on right fielder Alex Rios and the Royals turned down a $10 million mutual option on right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, the team announced Wednesday.
Guthrie will receive a $3.2 million buyout and Rios will get $1.5 million.
Gordon, the longest-tenured Royal and the face of the franchise, made his third All-Star team this year. He won Gold Gloves each of the past four years and might win another this year.
A midseason groin strain kept Gordon, 31, out for two months this year. He hit .271 with a .377 on-base percentage, a .432 slugging percentage, 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 104 regular-season games. Gordon batted .241/.349/.426 with two homers and six RBIs in 16 postseason games.
Since breaking in with Kansas City in 2007, Gordon has a career .269/.348/.435 hitting line with 134 homers and 523 RBIs in 1,136 games.
Rios, 34, signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Royals last December and hit .255/.287/.353 with four homers and 32 RBIs in 105 games during the regular season. He missed time with a broken hand and chickenpox. In 16 postseason games, he batted .271/.314/.375 with one homer and six RBIs.
Guthrie, 36, didn’t make the Royals’ roster for any round of the postseason. He went 8-8 with a 5.95 ERA in 30 regular-season games (24 starts). He spent three seasons in Kansas City, going 15-12 in 2013 and 13-11 in 2014.
