The Royals have fired longtime president of baseball operations Dayton Moore. What does it mean going forward?
The Kansas City Royals have fired president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and named J.J. Piccolo as Executive Vice President and general manager, effective immediately, the team announced.
Perhaps the biggest question on the minds of Royals fans — and those around baseball paying attention — is why now?
There was doubt among rival executives that the Royals would part ways with Moore after this year, mainly because Moore is among the most respected executives in baseball and has stocked the team’s farm system with young talent. But the Royals’ struggles in recent seasons — they have 89 losses with 14 games to go this season — as well as their inability to consistently develop young pitching forced team chairman John Sherman to act now.
Besides, the Royals have groomed Piccolo to eventually be the head of baseball operations. It’s possible that had Moore not been fired, that Piccolo — who has drawn outside interest in the past — could have landed a lead front office role elsewhere. And Piccolo is expected to revamp how the Royals approach things in the front office, specifically with data and analytics, with Sherman telling reporters: “I think sometimes the data isn’t as prominent in this organization as it should be. We need to make more data-driven decisions.”
What does this mean for Mike Matheny?
For now, nothing. Matheny will continue to manage the Royals for the remainder of the 2022 season, but his job status beyond this season is in question despite the team exercising his option for 2023 on March 31.
What’s next for Dayton Moore?
Moore will seek another job in baseball and, considering his strong reputation throughout baseball, should have no trouble finding another prominent position. Before joining the Royals in 2005, he began his career as a college coach and had a lengthy apprenticeship with the Atlanta Braves.
Interestingly, Moore told The Athletic: “I want to stay in baseball. I’m a coach by nature. One of the things I got criticized for was staying with players too long. But coaches stay with players. … That’s how they are wired.”
How does this impact the Royals moving forward?
For the first time since 2005, the Royals will have a new voice leading their baseball operations department. As Sherman alluded to, the team will prioritize becoming more numbers and analytic-driven. But it’s highly possible that this is the first of many major moves the team makes.
The next potential domino to fall is Matheny. But the Royals will take a close look at revamping their player development system, as the team has struggled to replace homegrown stars since the departures of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon.
Internally, the team believed that their path to replacing those players — and eventually making the playoffs — would be from a draft class featuring four collegiate pitchers in Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar and Kris Bubic. But Singer is the only one of the four pitchers with an ERA under 5.15, raising questions about their ability — or inability — to develop their minor-league players.
Piccolo’s first, and arguably most important task, will be hiring people to maximize the talent of their young players — and it will go a long way toward determining the success of his tenure.
