Kansas City Royals

Royals sign 12 players to 2019 deals

Published Jan. 29, 2019 2:24 p.m. ET

The Kansas City Royals announced the signings of a dozen players, none of whom are yet eligible for arbitration, to 2019 contracts Tuesday.

The signees: pitchers Scott Barlow, Scott Blewett, Chris Ellis, Arnaldo Hernandez, Brad Keller, Kevin McCarthy, Sam McWilliams, Jake Newberry and Eric Skoglund; infielders Hunter Dozier and Ryan O’Hearn; and catcher Meibrys Viloria.

All but Blewett and Hernandez, who were added to the Major League Reserve List in November, and Ellis and McWilliams, who were acquired in the Rule 5 Draft in December, have big-league service time.

Fifteen Royals remain unsigned for this season. They are pitchers Heath Fillmyer, Conner Greene, Tim Hill, Jakob Junis, Ben Lively, Jorge López, Trevor Oaks, Glenn Sparkman and Josh Staumont; infielders Kelvin Gutierrez and Adalberto Mondesi; outfielders Jorge Bonifacio, Brian Goodwin and Brett Phillips; and catcher Cam Gallagher.