Over the past few seasons, as the Kansas City Royals have looked to maximize their budget, they have been creative in free agency. One way that the Royals have been able to stretch their budget has been to sign injured pitchers to multi-year contracts, allowing them to oversee their rehab process and to get them ready for that second year, where they would be a theoretical bargain.
In just the past two years, the Royals have signed Luke Hochevar, Kris Medlen and now Mike Minor while they were in the midst of their rehab assignments.