The Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday that the club has signed right-handed starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a three-year Major League contract through the 2015 season.  Consistent with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Guthrie, 33, went 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts for the Royals after Kansas City acquired him from the Colorado Rockies on July 20 in exchange for pitcher Jonathan Sanchez.  The Royals went 10-4 in his starts, including winning 10 of the final 11.  Guthrie personally ended the campaign on a career-best five-game winning streak.  He was 4-0 with a 2.17 ERA in his final 11 starts, posting the seventh-best ERA in baseball and the third-best in the American League from August 8 to the end of the season.  Guthrie especially enjoyed pitching at Kauffman Stadium where he posted a 4-2 record with a 2.40 ERA in nine outings.

A workhorse throughout his career, Guthrie last season fell just 18.1 innings shy of recording his fourth-consecutive 200-inning season and he has averaged 198.0 innings over his last five seasons.  Jeremy is 55-77 with a 4.28 ERA in 210 career appearances, including 183 starts, for the Indians (2004-06), Orioles (2007-11), Rockies (2012) and Royals (2012).

— Royals Media Relations —

Louisville Slugger announced this evening that Royals player Billy Butler is the 2012 Silver Slugger™ Award winner at Designated Hitter in the American League.  Butler becomes the seventh-different Royals player to win a Silver Slugger award (10th time overall), the first since third baseman Dean Palmer in 1998.

The Silver Slugger award winners were determined by a vote of Major League Baseball coaches and managers who named the players they felt were the best offensive producers at each position in both the American and National leagues in 2012. Selections were based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as the coaches’ and managers’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value.  Managers and coaches were not allowed to vote for players on their own teams. Tabulation of the balloting was verified by the accounting firm of Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP.

Butler, 26, was awarded his third Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year award (also 2009 and 2010) yesterday.  Appearing in 138 games as the Royals designated hitter, Butler batted .315 (170-for-539) with 23 home runs, 29 doubles and 93 RBI.  He led all designated hitters with 61 runs, 170 hits, 29 doubles and 93 RBI while ranking second in average and home runs.  Overall, Butler batted .313 with 32 doubles, 29 home runs and 107 RBI in 161 contests.

Royals Silver Slugger Award winners (award was instituted in 1980):

George Brett – 1980, 1985 and 1988 (1980 and 1985 at third base, 1988 at first base)

Willie Wilson – 1980 and 1982 (outfield)

Hal McRae – 1982 (designated hitter)

Frank White – 1986 (second base)

Gary Gaetti – 1995 (third base)

Dean Palmer – 1998 (third base)

Billy Butler – 2012 (designated hitter)

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals announced on Thursday that the club has traded right-handed pitcher Jeremy Jeffress to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations.

Jeffress, 25, was designated for assignment on November 2.  The right-hander was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Royals in 2012.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals have announced that designated hitter Billy Butler has been named the 2012 Les Milgram Player of the Year.  The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Butler, 26, earned his third Les Milgram Player of the Year award (also 2009 and 2010) after leading the Royals with a .313 average, 29 home runs and 107 RBI.  Butler is the fourth player to win the award at least three times, joining George Brett (1975-76, 1979-80, 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1992), Amos Otis (1971, 1973 and 1978) and Mike Sweeney (2000, 2002 and 2005).  He recorded the eighth season in franchise history with at least a .300 average, 25 home runs and 100 RBI and the first since 2003.  The 2012 All-Star finished fifth in the American League with 192 hits, sixth in RBI and eighth in average.  His 29 home runs were the most by a Royal since Jermaine Dye hit 33 in 2000.  Butler tied for third in baseball with 10 home runs in the eighth inning or later.  The 10 late-inning home runs included three game-tying blasts and three go-ahead home runs.

The Royals announced Monday that shortstop Alcides Escobar won the 2012 Joe Burke Special Achievement award while Greg Holland was announced as the 2012 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year yesterday.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals have announced that right-handed reliever Greg Holland has been named the 2012 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year.  The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Holland, who will turn 27 on November 20, made 67 appearances for the Royals, finishing 7-4 with a 2.96 ERA, 16 saves and 91 strikeouts in 67.0 innings.  The North Carolina native overcame early season struggles and a stint on the disabled list by posting a 2.08 ERA over his final 60 outings.  He recorded 16 saves in 18 chances after taking over the closer’s role on July 31, including 13 straight conversions from August 1 to September 9.

Holland finished third among American League relievers in strikeouts, trailing teammate Tim Collins (93) and Steve Delabar, who notched 92 with Seattle and Toronto.  The 91 strikeouts rank sixth in single-season franchise history among relievers.  Holland held opponents to two home runs over 67.0 innings for a ratio of 0.27 per nine innings, second-best in the American League among pitchers who threw at least 65.0 innings.  He became the first Kansas City reliever with seven or more wins in a season since 2000.

Yesterday, the Royals announced that shortstop Alcides Escobar won the 2012 Joe Burke Special Achievement award.  Tomorrow, the club will announce the 2012 Les Milgram Player of the Year at noon CT.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals have announced that shortstop Alcides Escobar was selected as the 2012 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner.  The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).  The Joe Burke is awarded to an unsung player who contributed above and beyond what was expected, or someone who the writers felt deserved some recognition for an outstanding season.

Escobar had a breakout offensive season in 2012, his second with Kansas City after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on December 19, 2010.  The 25-year old set career highs with a .293 average, 177 hits, 30 doubles, five home runs, 52 RBI, and 35 stolen bases.  The 177 hits were 13 more than the previous single-season mark for a Royals shortstop.  His .293 average ranked second to New York’s Derek Jeter among MLB shortstops and was the third-highest single-season mark at the position by a Royal.  Escobar’s 35 stolen bases ranked fifth in the American League and were the most by a Royals player since 2003.  He became the first infielder in franchise history to post at least 30 doubles and 30 steals in the same season and the first Royal to accomplish the feat since Carlos Beltran in 2002.  Escobar’s first career multi-homer game on July 14 vs. Chicago was the first by a Royals shortstop since 1997.

The Royals plan to announce the 2012 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year tomorrow and the 2012 Les Milgram Player of the Year on Wednesday, November 7.  Both awards will be revealed at noon CT.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals announced Wednesday that the club has acquired right-handed starting pitcher Ervin Santana and cash from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher Brandon Sisk.

“We’ve stated all along that starting pitching was a priority this off-season and acquiring someone with the resume of Ervin Santana immediately upgrades our rotation,” said Royals GM Dayton Moore.  “At just 29 years old, he has 96 major league wins, is a proven innings eater and most importantly, he competes.  Ervin has been an All-Star, has pitched in the post-season and has at least 16 wins in three different years, all of which adds a winning mindset to our clubhouse.”

The 29-year-old Santana, an American League All-Star in 2008, is 96-80 with a 4.33 ERA in 236 career Major League appearances (233 starts), all coming with the Angels since his debut in 2005.  The 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander was 9-13 with a 5.16 ERA in 30 starts in 2012, finishing the season with a 3.63 ERA in his final 10 starts, allowing 45 hits over 62.0 innings with 55 strikeouts against 16 walks.  He authored a one-hit shutout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 16 in Anaheim, joining Nolan Ryan and the only two Angels pitchers to have a no-hitter and a one-hitter.

Santana has topped the 200-innings mark in three of the last five seasons, including combining for 629.1 innings since 2010.  He has allowed fewer hits (1,444) than innings pitched (1,475.2) over his career and posted a combined opponent batting average of .240 over the last two seasons.  Santana has a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.46 and has never posted a season below 2.00 in his career.  He tossed a no-hitter on July 27, 2011 at Cleveland, allowing an unearned run in a 3-1 victory and recorded 11 double-digit strikeout games in his career to this point.

Sisk, 27, signed with the Royals as a minor league free agent on July 8, 2008.  The left-handed reliever went 3-2 with eight saves and compiled a 2.54 ERA in 50 outings with Omaha (AAA) in 2012.

— Royals Media Relations —