Bossier City’s Seth Lugo Signs $45 Million Deal With New MLB Team

Former Parkway Panther and Centenary Gent Seth Lugo has a new home in Major League Baseball. The Bossier City native has a big new deal for next year. The MLB starting pitcher will be heading to the American League for the first time in his career.

Lugo went to Parkway High School in Bossier City, where he was a star on the baseball team. He also played soccer, football, and ran track. He won numerous awards throughout his high school athletic career, including Academic All State in football. Eventually Lugo made his way to Centenary in Shreveport, where he played baseball for the Gents. He continued his award winning ways in the Summit League, and found himself in position to be drafted by a Major League club. In the 2011 MLB Draft, the New York Mets picked him in the 34th Round. He was the 1,032 pick in the draft.

He pushed hard through the minor leagues, and eventually made his MLB debut in the 2016 season.

Last season, Lugo went 8-7 over 26 starts with a 3.57 ERA for the San Diego Padres. The 34-year-old spent years in the bullpen for the New York Mets before getting a chance to start in San Diego.

The contract that took him from New York to San Diego was a 2-year deal worth $15 million, with an even $7.5 million a year over each season. But it included an opt-out for Lugo after the first year, and opt-out he took at the end of the season. That turned him into an unrestricted free agent right away.

Since Lugo was unrestricted, he drew interest from a number of clubs. The Padres were interested in bringing Lugo back, while the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angles all showed interest in signing Lugo. But it was a team from the American League Central that ended up landing the right hander.

The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms with Lugo on a 3-year, $45 million contract. That deal will pay him $15 million a season, which is the total of his Padres contract he signed last offseason.

Even though its not as massive as the deal the Dodgers gave to Shohei Ohtani this year, this is a very good deal for Lugo. It not only gives him one of the biggest contracts the Royals have ever offered to a pitcher, the team seems to be adding more still. Making it seem like the Royals intent to win the AL Central.