(royals/ap) The Kansas City Royals have made their next move. Royals Executive Vice President/General Manager J.J. Picollo announced Wednesday night that Manager Mike Matheny and pitching Coach Cal Eldred would not return next season. Matheny was fired after 3 seasons finishing with a 165-219 record. Eldred has been the Royals pitching coach since 2018.
The Royals had exercised their option on Matheny’s contract for 2023 during spring training, when the club hoped it was turning the corner from also-ran to contender. But plagued by poor pitching, struggles from young position players, and a lackluster group of veterans, the Royals were largely out of playoff contention by the middle of summer.
The disappointing on-field product led owner John Sherman last month to fire longtime front office executive Dayton Moore, the architect of back-to-back American League champions and the 2015 World Series title team. He was replaced by one of his longtime understudies, J.J. Picollo, who made the decision to fire Matheny hours after the season ended.
The club is expected to make more changes to the coaching staff in the coming weeks, as well as other personnel changes throughout the organization.
