The KC Royals reached an agreement with right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar on a one year deal to avoid an arbitration hearing this spring.

The contract is worth $4.5 million. It also includes $100,000 in performance bonuses.

That contract is an increase of $1.05 million from last season. A season in which he went 8-16 with a 5.73 ERA. The 16 losses were second-most in the Majors. The positive was that he had a career-high 144 strikeouts in 185.1 innings (seven per nine innings).

Hochevar had 11 terrible starts in 2012 (at least five earned runs and a 13.88 ERA). In his other 22 starts, he carried a very respectable 2.88 ERA.

Hochevar will be battling for the final spot in the Royals rotation with the likes of Bruce Chen, Luis Mendoza, Will Smith, and Everett Teaford. Both Chen and Mendoza will be away during spring training, participating in the World Baseball Classic.

The Royals have been actively shopping both Hochevar and Chen, but have yet to have any takers. In his six years so far with the Royals, he has a career 38-59 record with a 5.39 ERA in 132 games. He was their number one pick back in 2006.

The Hochevar signing locks up all Royals players to contracts for the 2013 season (he was the only player to file).

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Thankfully, the KC Royals and outfielder Alex Gordon avoided the February 16th arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $4.775 million contract on Thursday. He was the final Royals arbitration-eligible player to sign.

According to MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel, Gordon will also receive a $25,000 bonus if he reaches 700 plate appearances (I’m guessing he’s going to want to lead off again this season).

The two sides are still far apart in terms of a long-term contract.

An arbitration hearing would have meant that the two sides would build a case as to why or why not Gordon deserved what he was asking for. From what I have heard, these hearings can get ugly and hurt the pride of the player.

Official workouts for Royals pitchers and catchers begins on February 21st.

It has been a busy day for the KC Royals.

They have signed four arbitration-eligible players throughout the day, leaving just outfielder Alex Gordon as the only player to still be without a contract for the 2012 season. Today is the final day for the two sides to exchange salary numbers before heading to arbitration hearings.

Earlier in the day, outfielder Mitch Maier agreed to a one-year deal. Though the Royals press release does not disclose specifics, according to Joey Nowak of MLB.com, the deal is worth $865,000.

Maier is the longest tenured player on the 40-man roster (his tenth year with the organization), as he was drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft. In his career, he has hit .253 in 327 games. Last season, Maier hit .232 with four doubles, three triples, seven RBIs, and 19 runs scored in 45 games.

In the last hour, the Royals have agreed to terms with three pitchers: Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino, and Jonathan Sanchez. Terms of the one-year deals have not be disclosed.

Hochevar was the Opening Day starter in 2011 and went 11-11with a 4.68 ERA in 31 starts. He went 6-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 12 starts following the All-Star break, holding opponents to a .222 average which ranked sixth in the American League among starters. He set career bests in wins, starts, innings (198.0), strikeouts (128) and quality starts (16) in 2011. Hochevar was the Royals first round pick in 2006.

Paulino came to the Royals via a May trade with the Colorado Rockies in 2011 (he was originally signed by the Houston Astros in 2001). He was 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) following the deal, striking out 119 in 124.2 innings. His 8.59 strikeouts per nine innings ranks as the fifth-best in franchise history among pitchers with at least 120 innings. Following the season, he was a member of the MLB All-Stars team that toured Taiwan (he pitched the third game of the series).

The Royals acquired Sanchez (along with minor league pitcher Ryan Vergudo) in November of 2011 for outfielder Melky Cabrera. In 2011 with the SF Giants, he was 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 19 starts before missing the end of the season with a left ankle sprain. In his career, he is 38-46 with a 4.26 ERA in 174 outings, including 118 starts. He threw a no-hitter on July 10, 2009 and had his best season in 2010 (13-9 with a 3.07 ERA).

On Monday, the KC Royals agreed to one-year deals for the 2012 season with two players, catcher Brayan Pena and infielder Chris Getz, avoiding arbitration. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Pena, who just turned 30, set career highs in games played, at bats, hits, doubles, and RBIs in 2011 with the Royals. He hit .248 (55-for-222) with 11 doubles, three homeruns, and 24 RBIs in 72 games. He will most likely back up Salvador Perez in 2012.

The Royals acquired Getz via trade with the Chicago White Sox in November of 2009. Last season the 28-year old hit .255 (97-for-380) with six doubles and 26 RBIs in 118 games He also stole 21 bases. I’m still not sure what Getz’ role will be in 2012, but he should be given a shot at winning the starting second base job in spring training.

The Royals now have five remaining arbitration-eligible players: pitchers Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino and Jonathan Sanchez, and outfielders Mitch Maier and Alex Gordon.