The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have agreed to a five-year contract with Danny Duffy. The deal will begin in 2017 and run through the 2021 season. Consistent with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Duffy, 27, set career highs in wins (12), starts (26), innings pitched (179.2) and strikeouts (188) in 2016, while also leading Royals starting pitchers in ERA (3.51). The Royals were 17-9 (.654) in his 26 starts. His 12-3 record (.800) matched Larry Gura in 1978 for the best single-season winning percentage in Royals history (min. 15 decisions).
He won 10 straight decisions from June 11-August 21 of last season, one shy of the franchise record shared by Rich Gale (1980) and Paul Splittorff (1977-78). On August 1 at Tampa Bay, Duffy set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts and didn't allow a hit until the first batter of the eighth inning, finishing with 8.0 scoreless innings. In doing so, he joined Randy Johnson as the only left-handed pitchers since 1913 to record at least 16 strikeouts and allow one-or-fewer hit.
Duffy held left-handed batters to a .183 average (20-for-109) in 2016, fourth best in the American League (min. 100 batters faced), and allowed just three extra-base hits to lefties all season. His career .208 opponents' average vs. lefties ranks 10th in the American League since his debut in 2011.
Duffy's 2016 season included a 7-0 mark at home. He hasn't lost at Kauffman Stadium since September 5, 2015, setting a new club record for consecutive home starts without a loss at 15.
A third-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, Duffy made his Major League debut with the Royals in 2011. In six Major League seasons, he is 36-33 with a 3.71 ERA over 134 appearances (106 starts). Duffy went 1-0 with nine strikeouts in six appearances during the 2015 postseason, including three World Series outings.