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One of the surprises of the Major League Baseball season has been the excellent starting pitching of the Kansas City Royals.

Though their playoff destiny is hanging in the balance after a terrible week, the Royals have already made a dramatic improvement on their 106-loss 2023 season, and the starting rotation deserves a lot of the credit. Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, and Brady Singer have all been rock-solid.

Wacha, however, is a free agent, and the fifth slot in the rotation has been a question mark for most of the second half. The Royals will need reinforcements this winter, and as they showed in last year’s free-agent window, they are more willing than ever to spend on big-budget stars.

One possible rotation option is the New York Mets’ Sean Manaea, who is almost guaranteed to opt out of the second year of his free-agent contract. But according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Manaea has significantly upped his price tag with his recent performance.

“Mets starter Sean Manaea is heading for a nice free agent payday,” Nightengale said. “He has permitted three runs or fewer in 17 of his last 19 starts, pitching at least 6 ⅔ innings in 10 of his last 11 starts.”

Manaea, 32, is having a career year at the perfect time. He’s 12-5 with a 3.29 ERA, both of which are career-best marks. He will also eclipse his previous high mark in innings pitched, which is 179 1/3, when he makes his next start for New York.

Manaea has the option to accept a $13 million salary from the Mets, but that’s chump change compared to what he’ll get on the open market. He’s likely to seek a multi-year deal, possibly even four or five years, and may eclipse $20 million in average annual salary.

In years past, the Royals could rarely be counted on to enter the bidding for stars like Manaea, particularly if big-market teams like the Mets were involved. But bringing in Lugo and Wacha for $15 million each was a signal that times have changed.

It appears the Royals are ready to spend like a contender moving forward. They have the opportunity to prove it as soon as the World Series is over in early November.