The 2016 Kansas City Royals, your defending World Series Champions, have kicked off spring training and begin the long journey what hopefully ends in another deep playoff run.

Although spring training has just started for the team, there have been several early storylines to come out of Surprise, Arizona.

The most important news so far came with the signing of World Series MVP catcher, Salvador Perez.

With a couple of years left on a Royals-friendly contract, the organization returned to Perez a deserving increase in pay with a 5 year extension through 2021 worth $52.5 million with a $6 million guarantee.

It’s win-win for both sides and continues the marriage between one of the baseball’s top catchers and the organization that he has come up with.

General Manager, Dayton Moore, and the Royals have several expiring contracts coming up over the next 2-3 seasons. Stars such as Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Lorenzo Cain will reach the end of their current deals and command big money in the free agency market.

The Royals have shown–with Perez’s deal–that they are willing to pay their stars, but with Hosmer, for example, they would likely need to approach their all-star first baseman with a deal worthy of somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million.

Other teams around the league are going to come after him with bigger deals than what Kansas City will likely offer him, which means the Royals will have to hope he is willing to take a lesser amount to stay with the club.

Many feel as though keeping Moustakas and Cain may be an easier venture, but Cain–if he continues his assent–will command a lofty contract as well. The Royals don’t have the same money big-market teams have, but they are capable of spending more than they lead on, which will make their ultimate decision and pursuit in free agency very interesting.

Jarrod Dyson injured

The Royals utility outfielder is out 6 weeks, according to manager Ned Yost, for an oblique strain suffered in the spring training opener against the Texas Rangers.

Dyson, who has been apart of the 30-man roster for several seasons and served as the replacement for Lorenzo Cain on his off-days, is now behind the eight ball when it comes to the roster for 2016. One would think Dyson still holds a spot in the eyes of Ned Yost, but Yost has said he is looking at all players, new and old, with open eyes and going to determine which players to add to the roster based on what he sees over the course of spring training.

With spring training just getting started in Surprise, Arizona, Tickets For Less has plenty of tickets available to catch all the action as the Kansas City Royals prepare to defend their World Series Championship in 2016. With stars like Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Alex Gordon, as well plenty of young minor league talents taking the field, you don’t want to miss out on the chance to take in some baseball in sunny Arizona. Tickets for regular season games in Kauffman Stadium are available for sale as well. With zero hidden service fees, what you see is what you get with every ticket purchase. Go Royals!