Royal family sacked Dayton Moore as head of baseball operations

Dayton Moore, 2015 World Championship Champion Engineer Kansas City Royals But the franchise host, in the midst of its sixth straight losing season, was relieved of his role as head of baseball’s operations. Royal family owner John Sherman announced the shooting at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, in what could be the first in a series of sweeping changes to a team that has fallen far short of expectations in 2022.

“Dayton has revived that franchise,” Sherman said Wednesday. “Today I want to make sure that my feeling is gratitude.”

Moore has overseen the Royal Family since 2006. Longtime lieutenant JJ ​​Piccolo took over as general manager towards the end of the 2021 season. Sherman said Wednesday that Piccolo will take over baseball operations moving forward.

“I am really grateful for this opportunity,” Moore said. the athlete. “I’m proud of our culture and what we accomplished in Kansas City. I’m disappointed we couldn’t see it through. But I have confidence in John Sherman, J.J. Piccolo, and the entire baseball operations department to finish it.”

Moore’s era will end with a club full of interesting talents, like 22-year-old Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., but it is struggling to compete at the level of the big league. The fate of manager Mike Matheny, whose option for 2023 was chosen by the royal family on March 31, is also in question, with Sherman indicating that any decision on Matheny’s future will be left to Piccolo. On Wednesday, the Royal Family entered 22 games from the top spot in the American Central League. The team struggled to develop a second generation to replace the wave of local players, such as Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Mike Mustafawho led the team to back-to-back MLS pennants in 2014 and 2015.

When he arrived in 2006, Moore inherited a franchise wreck. The royals haven’t made it to the post-season since 1985. With hard patience, Moore and his cohorts rebuild the club into champions. But the franchise struggled to move to a new stage after players like Hosmer, Mustakas and Lorenzo Cain left in free agency.

The team staked its hopes of getting a second chance to compete for a group of bowlers captured in the first two rounds of the 2018 draft. Five years later, only one, Brady Singer, was thriving in the majors, leading to questions about the viability of the team development system, a franchise necessity that refuses to spend lavishly in free agency. Prior to buying Royals in 2019, Sherman was a minority investor in Cleveland Guardianswho built a pipeline despite similar budget constraints.

Moore, 55, came to Kansas City after a long apprenticeship with Atlanta Braves. He began his career as a college coach, and he recalled that date when discussing his future.

“I definitely expect to stay in baseball,” Moore said. “I want to stay in baseball. I’m a coach by nature. One of the things I’ve been criticized for is staying with players for so long. But coaches stay with players. That’s what they do. That’s how wires are attached.”

Additional reporting by Rustin Dodd
(Dayton Moore Photo: Ed Zurga/Getty Images)