KANSAS CITY -- The Royals reunited with Michael Lorenzen on Wednesday, signing the right-hander on a one-year contract.

According to a source, the deal is worth a guaranteed $7 million, with a mutual contract option for 2026. Lorenzen will make $5.5 million this season as part of the Royals’ pitching staff, and the mutual option is worth $12 million with a $1.5 million buyout if the club declines. There are also performance incentives in the deal.

Lorenzen “loved everything about” his time with Kansas City last season after he was acquired at the Trade Deadline, and a return made sense given the Royals’ need for another pitcher and Lorenzen’s experience with Kansas City already.

“And I think that we’re going to win,” Lorenzen said. “Obviously, that’s another plus. I think they’re going to bring the best out of me, so I think it just makes sense in every direction.”

“When I hung up the phone with Michael the other night, he said, ‘Let’s win the division.’” general manager J.J. Picollo added. “I think the mindset has changed on this team. It’s gone from, I’ll say hope, to more of a laser-focused goal of winning the World Series. I think it’s just the maturity of the team -- the culture has changed, the objectives have changed.”

The Royals were aggressive early in the offseason, checking off their two major priorities by re-signing starting pitcher Michael Wacha and trading for leadoff hitter Jonathan India. Since then, they’ve opted to wait out the market and see how things developed.

All along, a reunion with the 33-year-old Lorenzen loomed as the Royals expressed their desire to find a pitcher who could fill a variety of roles, although Lorenzen will operate as a full-time starter, at least to begin the season.

As a Royal last year, Lorenzen posted a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. He missed time with a left hamstring strain but otherwise impressed in a small sample size. In total with the Rangers and Royals in ’24, Lorenzen threw 130 1/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA.

He should help the Royals cover some of the 179 2/3 innings lost in the rotation when they traded Brady Singer to the Reds for India. The Royals think highly of their young pitching contingent to help in the rotation, but adding a veteran like Lorenzen helps give the starting group depth. It seems likely that the rotation on Opening Day will include Lorenzen, Wacha, Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, as well as whoever emerges as the fifth starter in Spring Training.

Kris Bubic returned to the mound as a reliever last year after Tommy John surgery, thus he’ll likely be limited in innings in his first year back as a starter. The same, to a greater extent, goes for Kyle Wright, who did not pitch at all in 2024 after shoulder surgery.

The Royals also have Alec Marsh and Daniel Lynch IV returning as competition for a rotation spot. All four of those pitchers will compete as a starter in spring with the ability to go to the bullpen if needed.

But Lorenzen also brings experience in the bullpen. Since he debuted as a two-way player in 2015 with the Reds, Lorenzen performed mostly as a swingman until 2022, when he signed with the Angels as a full-time starter. Since ’22, Lorenzen has a 3.90 ERA, with a 1.24 WHIP in 381 innings, mostly as a starter.

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Lorenzen spoke highly of his short time with the Royals, particularly the work he did with pitching coaches Brian Sweeney, Zach Bove and Mitch Stetter. Their ideas, along with how easily Lorenzen fit in with the team, helped with his decision to return.

“I can compliment them all day with how open-minded they are,” Lorenzen said of the coaches. “I know I come in with a lot of ideas, and I like to just get better. That’s what wakes me up every morning and allows me to go to the field every day. … It can kind of be a little aggressive for some people, but they came alongside me and were open to my ideas. I think that’s why we made some huge strides after I got traded to Kansas City.”

Lorenzen also heaped praise on catchers Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. A benefit of re-signing with the Royals is having experience with those two already -- and getting a full spring with them, too, especially after he did not sign with the Rangers until the end of March last year, delaying his debut until April 15.

Now, Lorenzen knows exactly where he needs to be on Feb. 12, when Royals pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, Ariz. He has spent his winter in Southern California, with his training focused on mechanical tweaks to help his velocity and two-strike execution.

The former two-way player does still hit every so often in the offseason. It’s a good rotational exercise that helps him with pitching -- and he “loves it,” he said. A report earlier in the offseason that explored Lorenzen’s potential to sign with a team as a two-way player was a way for Lorenzen to seek at-bats, he said.

With the Royals, Lorenzen will be a starter. But he might bug manager Matt Quatraro if pinch-hitting options get thin.

“I’m always finding ways to get at-bats somehow,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen’s signing shores up the pitching staff, although Kansas City could add a reliever. The bat the Royals are still seeking this offseason needs to be an everyday middle-of-the-order bat that can inject some power into their lineup. Picollo said the Royals aren’t done searching, but it’s proving to be more difficult as the winter winds down.

“Confidence level may not be as high as it was early in the offseason, but it doesn’t mean we don’t keep looking, don’t keep thinking, come up with different ideas,” Picollo said. “... I think where we can be optimistic is there are still a lot of things to be determined in this offseason, so as one player signs, somebody might be the odd man out with another team.”