Kelvin Herrera, Nate Karns agree to deals with Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Royals agreed with reliever Kelvin Herrera and starter Nate Karns on one-year contracts Friday to avoid arbitration, leaving reliever Brandon Maurer as their only player still on track for a hearing next month.

Herrera will make $7,937,500, an increase from $5,325,000. He would get a $50,000 bonus if he's an All-Star, which he was in 2015 and 2016.

He was just 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA last season after taking on the full-time closer job.

Karns will make $1,375,000 in his first year of arbitration eligibility, an increase from the $571,000 he made last season. He would get a $12,500 each for 15 and 20 starts and $50,000 if he's an All-Star.

Karns missed most of last season after surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He was 2-2 with a 4.17 ERA in nine games, eight of them starts, and is expected to compete for a rotation spot this spring.

Maurer asked for a raise from $1.9 million to $3.5 million and was offered $2.95 million.

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