The KC Royals have a Michael Wacha problem they must address

Michael Wacha's contract doesn't guarantee he'll be back next season

The deal Wacha signed looks like he'll be a Royal again in 2025, but don't take his return as a given. Yes, the contract guarantees him $16 million apiece for this season and next, but he doesn't have to come back. Instead, whether he pitches for Kansas City next year depends entirely on a player option — if he exercises it, he'll return, but if he doesn't, he won't be a Royal unless he signs a new KC deal.

Losing Wacha, one of the franchise's finest free agent acquisitions in recent memory, would be a blow and leave a gaping hole in manager Matt Quatraro's rotation. So, what should the club do?

The KC Royals must find a way to retain Michael Wacha

Wacha seems happy in Kansas City, he's pitching for a winner, and the Royal future is bright, all of which suggests he'll be tempted to return for another year.

But in his 12th major league season, Wacha is also a savvy veteran who knows baseball is a business, and the kind of year he's having suggests he'll be quite attractive on the open market if he declines his option and becomes a free agent.

The Royals need to get out in front of that possibility.

How to do that is the question...

Here's what the Royals should do

Picollo and principal owner John Sherman should, if they haven't already, begin considering how to keep Wacha. Assuming he declines his option, which seems quite possible considering the high value his current record is creating, he'll be a free agent eligible to shop his services to all 30 major league clubs. He hasn't announced what he plans to do, but testing free agency is an alternative he controls.

And he'll have plenty of suitors if he hits the market, many of whom will be more than willing to pay him more than his $16 million option. A nine-figure, three or four-year deal isn't out of the question.

What the Royals must do, and soon, is offer Wacha a high-dollar deal. He's too good to simply say goodbye to and, as fast as the club has improved and as well as it's playing, it should no longer just assume it can't afford to re-sign its free agents and then let them walk.

Kansas City should try to renegotiate his present deal with an eye toward signing him to a multi-year contract before this season ends. Hammering out such a deal would be advantageous to both team and player.

Sherman needs to clear Picollo to pursue Wacha now. Kansas City has an excellent shot at postseason play this season and, with another winter of key roster adjustments, should be even better next season.

Keeping Wacha will be critical. The Royals need to try hard, and spend the money, to make it happen.

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