Bruce Chen will return to the Royals on a one-year, $2 million contract, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman.
Chen was trying to hold out for a multiyear deal after his surprisingly strong 2010 season, but that was never on the table. The Royals, who probably had Kevin Pucetas fifth on their starting pitching depth chart just a few days ago, are now looking at a rotation of Chen, Jeff Francis and Luke Hochevar in some order, with Kyle Davies, Vin Mazzaro and Sean O'Sullivan fighting for two spots. No, they're not banging heads with the Phillies, but that seems like a much better situation.
If Chen can come close to repeating his '10 season, this rotation looks a lot better. It's still shit but better. Moore should still be looking at adding more pitching though.