Royals designate third baseman Hunter Dozier for assignment
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hunter Dozier's time with the Kansas City Royals is coming to a close.
The Royals designated Hunter Dozier for assignment in order to bring up third baseman Nicky Lopez, who returned from the 10-day injured list after an emergency appendectomy he received at the beginning of the month.
Dozier is in the third season of a four year, $25 million contract with the Royals and is owed $7.5 million this season and $9.2 million next season to go along with a $1 million buyout in 2025.
The Royals selected Dozier eighth overall in the 2013 MLB Draft. Dozier made his Major League debut on September 2, 2016.
He had his best year with the team in 2019, belting a career-high 26 home runs to go along with a .279 batting average and 84 RBIs.
So far this season, Dozier was batting .183 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 29 games. He has seven days to be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.
The former first-round pick never fully found his footing with the franchise after his breakout season in 2019. The Royals thanked Dozier for his contributions in a post on social media.