‘Our guy. Our team’: Kansas City Royals (& Patrick Mahomes) talk Bobby Witt Jr. deal

When Royals star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. walked into Tuesday’s press conference at Kauffman Stadium, four words appeared on a screen beside the table.

Our guy. Our team.

Now, the Royals have their guy locked up for the future.

It’s been a busy offseason in the free-agency and trade markets for Kansas City, but the Royals capped it off with Witt inking the largest contract in franchise history at $288.8 million over 11 years.

Witt, coming off a 4.4 WAR season in which he slashed .276/.319/.495 as a member of the 30-30 club — and led the league in triples — started off Tuesday’s press conference by thanking the Royals organization.

Witt also noted that he’s only ever had tears of joy a few times in his life — “All of my sisters’ weddings (and) when I got drafted,” he said — but the emotions surrounding the extension and now being able to call Kansas City home for the next 11 years have been surreal.

The contract does have a team-option aspect that can extend it to 14 seasons. There are also opt-outs for Witt starting at seven years.

“This is a huge day in Kansas City, and there’s a lot going on in Kansas City this week,” Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman said on Tuesday, referencing the upcoming Super Bowl and perhaps the recent FIFA World Cup announcement. “So to get people’s attention on this is a big deal. It’s a big day for fans, for our city, for our club and certainly his family.”

Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, who noted that the deal has been a work in progress since September, shared similar sentiments on Tuesday.

“I want to thank Bobby for wanting to be a Royal long term,” Picollo said. “I think early on, when we started out, that was like the biggest question we had to get over, and it was very apparent that Bobby was committed and comfortable with being in Kansas City, and that was exciting for us.

“We’re very fortunate that Bobby wants to be a part of Kansas City. He shares our vision, wants to win, and that was very clear. Ad we’re just proud that you’re here.”

Many prominent members of the KC sports community — including some of Witt’s teammates — rushed to congratulate him on the historic deal.

“Hey Junior, congratulations man,” catcher Salvador Perez said in a video shared on the club’s X (formerly Twitter) account. “Really deserved, man. I know how hard you work, how hard you prepare yourself every day to be on the field, so enjoy and we’ll see you soon.”

Members of the Royals’ two World Series-winning teams congratulated Witt as well.

“Couldn’t happen to a better guy, I’m so happy for you,” Royals Hall of Famer and 1985 champion George Brett said in a social media video. “I’ve always looked forward to watching you play, like many Kansas City fans have, and now we’re gonna get to see you longer than I ever expected.”

“I couldn’t think of a better fit than this player and this organization teaming up for the next few years,” three-time All Star and 2015 champion Alex Gordon said in a video on X. “I’m excited to see what they can accomplish in the future together. He’s a great player. We all know what kind of a talent he is, but even a better person.”

As Sherman referenced, Kansas City is having quite the sports week, but the chaos in Las Vegas didn’t distract a certain two-time Super Bowl MVP (and Royals minority owner) from reaching out.

“He’s pretty fired up,” Witt said of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ message, saying it was “pretty cool” to hear from him. “He said, ‘I can’t wait to see what you do for the city and what’s to come.’ And I said, ‘Just bring another one home.’”

In Tuesday’s Chiefs media session in Henderson, Nevada, Mahomes spoke on Witt again.

“I’m glad he’s going to be in Kansas City for the long run,” Mahomes said. “Just knowing the guy and how hard he works, it’s going to do tremendous things for that organization.

“When you have a leader like that who’s young and really is inspired to make this team great, that’s what you want.”

For the Royals, the Witt extension is the latest evidence that KC is turning the page on a 106-loss season that tied for the worst in franchise history.

Sherman and Picollo are ready to bring Kansas City back to its 2015 ways. And Witt is ecstatic to lead the charge.

“Now is just the perfect time,” Witt said. “Had a bad year last year, but then now just trying to build off that, just (doing what we can) to keep performing. And you saw all the moves that they made this offseason: It’s just a sign of hope.”

The next steps?

“We secured a superstar in the game, so that’s step number one,” Picollo said. “We’re going to have a player here in the middle of our lineup, the top of our lineup, whatever that ends up being, that’s here for a lot of years, and it gives us something to build around.

“I think our front office learned that Kansas City’s a destination spot for free agents. It’s nice to be able to sign guys and represent what Kansas City brings for you and your family and ... our vision in the organization.”

Witt, on the other hand, remains grateful to both the Royals for trying to surround him with a winner and the fan base for continuing to cheer him on.

“It’s huge,” Witt said. “It just shows you how supportive all the fans are, how the people in Kansas City are, and you see what they’re doing with the fan base over there (at Arrowhead Stadium). We want to get that kind of (support) back over here, but in blue.”

The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff contributed to this report.