Dayton Moore has been relieved of his role as president of baseball operations for the Kansas City Royals. Royals owner, John Sherman, announced the firing at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Moore’s departure signals that this could be the first of many sweeping changes. For a team that’s fallen short of expectations since 2015, Moore went from general manager to president of baseball operations earlier this year. Meanwhile, J.J. Picollo took over as general manager at the end of the 2021 season.
The Kansas City Royals fired president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, their longtime top baseball executive and the architect of their 2015 World Series championship.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 21, 2022
Dayton Moore Fired
What makes this bittersweet is that Moore is a native of Wichita, KS. Kansas City hired Moore as the general manager in 2006 after two decades in the Atlanta Braves organization. When he took over, Moore inherited a disaster of a franchise whose last taste of glory was winning the 1985 World Series. But, with a ton of patience, Moore and his team built the club into a contender. The franchise struggled to transition into the next phase after Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain left town for free agency.
Kansas City felt optimistic with the pitchers taken in the first two rounds of the 2018 MLB Draft. Five years later, only Brady Singer has thrived in the majors. It ultimately leads to questions about the consistency and dependence of the team’s development system since the franchise doesn’t spend money on free agency.
Moore’s time with the Royals ends with a club with intriguing talent, including Bobby Witt Jr. As for the fate of manager Mike Matheney, that will likely come next, considering the Royals’ club option for 2023 was exercised back in March. Picollo remains the general manager. He held the role of the Royals’ assistant general manager/scouting and player development from 2008-2015.
With two weeks left of the season, the Royals are 58-89 as they’re well out of playoff contention. Altogether, they’re 22 games out of first place in the AL Central.
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Players/managers mentioned:
John Sherman, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Brady Singer, Bobby Witt Jr.
