Royals, Soler avoid arbitration with signing of one-year deal

Jorge Soler shattered the Kansas City Royals‘ season home record in 2019, but he won’t break the bank this year.

Soler, who hit an American League-high 48 home runs last season, has signed a one-year deal with the Royals, thus avoiding arbitration, the club announced Friday.

The outfielder/designated hitter became the first Royal to lead the league in homers. He bested Mike Moustakas’ previous team record by 10 en route to becoming the Cuban-born record holder for home runs in a season, eclipsing Rafael Palmeiro, who had 47 in 1999 and 2001.

Soler, 27, batted .265 with a career-high 117 RBIs in 2019. He also ranked fourth in the league with 82 extra-base hits, fifth with a .569 slugging percentage and seventh with a .922 OPS.

Soler came to the Royals in a trade with with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.