Evaluating a baseball manager is an extremely difficulty proposition for us on the outside (and probably difficult on the inside as well). Ned Yost was an idiot, until he was a baseball whisperer. I read and listened to Los Angeles Dodgers fans lambast manager Dave Roberts for years, but he’s still there and winning World Series. The 2023 AL Manager of the Year, Brandon Hyde, was fired by the Baltimore Orioles in May of 2025.
The goal of a manager is to preside over a winning baseball team, yet they
have little control over how well the players perform. Longtime skipper Sparky Anderson told the Los Angeles Times in 1974:
“I don’t believe a manager ever won a pennant. Casey Stengel won all those pennants with the Yankees. How many did he win with the Boston Braves and Mets? I’ve never seen a team win a pennant without players. I think the only thing the manager has to do is keep things within certain boundaries.”
I think Anderson’s insight into managing is correct, and his approach is how I try to approach judging Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro. Quatraro only has so much control over how well the players perform and who plays for the team. We can judge how well Quatraro kept things within certain boundaries, where he has influence. I think the areas of influence where we, the public, can see the biggest impact are in close games, specifically related to bullpen management, and by the teams overall effort level. Using that criteria, I think Quatraro had another strong season leading the team.
First, the Royals bullpen was a positive unit this season that helped the Royals win games. The Royals bullpen had the seventh best ERA among bullpens in the majors. They reached that ERA target despite being right in the middle with the 15th best FIP. The bullpen had the seventh highest Win Probability Added among all bullpens in the majors; they were contributing positively to the team’s chances of winning on a regular basis. By RA9-WAR, the Royals actually had the third most valuable bullpen in basball.
That success was achieved without a truly dominant reliever. Carlos Estevez had a very nice season, but he was a walking heart attack for multiple stretches this year. Lucas Erceg had a good year but wasn’t as dominant as he had been previously. Quatraro called upon positive innings from Taylor Clarke, John Schreiber and Angel Zerpa despite none of them being particularly dominant. The bullpen wasn’t as plug and play to manage as the HDH bullpen was, but overall the usage of the relievers was a positive for the Royals this season.
You can always quibble with certain specific decisions on what pitcher should come in, and I’m sure Quatraro would occasionally like some of his decision back. Overall, the Royals bullpen and their usage helped the team go 24-20 in one-run games. While that number can be subject to variance, if Quatraro was as bad at bullpen management as his loudest detractors claim it is, we should be able to see it in the data. Instead, we see a bullpen that got good results and helped the team win a couple more close games than you would expect them too. Quatraro is certainly not hurting the Royals with his in-game decisions, and the evidence from this year argues that he’s helping them some.
Second, the Royals continued to give good effort throughout the season even after playing through some difficult stretches. The team went 8-18 in June, and were 39-46 to end the month. Previous Royals teams that we’ve witnessed would have folded after the June swoon. But the team fought back and had their best month of the year in July, which would help keep them in the Wild Card Race up until the final couple of weeks. The Royals fell short of their goals, but they didn’t get too frustrated and start putting in a lackluster effort.
The players have more to do with this turnaround than Quatraro does, but I think a manager can have a big impact on the culture, and culture feeds into the collective decision of whether a baseball team is going to keep trying all year or mail it in. I know some people find Q’s stoicism frustrating and would like him to show more emotion on the baseball field. I find his demeanor to be calm and reassuring, particularly for a sport like baseball where you have so many games. Getting too high or too low can be a detriment when nearly every team every season is going to look great at times and terrible at other times. The Royals stayed steady and still believed in themselves even when they were struggling, and Quatraro helps set that culture of belief and staying the course throughout a long season.
I’m assuming every manager has vocal critics, and Quartraro is no different. He wasn’t perfect this year – I think we could have pitched Cameron deeper into games earlier, and I do think he could react quicker to new information about the relievers that he calls into game. That being said, the bullpen was managed well enough to be Top 7 in ERA, and the team never gave up on the season even when many of us (me included) were giving up on them.
I’ve really enjoyed Matt Quatraro as a manager. I personally would get tired of someone like Aaron Boone who gets tossed from games all the time, and Quatraro is about as far from that demanor as you can be and still hold a manager position. I think he set up the Royals bullpen up well for success and helped the team win more close games than you would necessarily expect. The team culture remained positive and the effort level remained all year, despite some rough patches.
There’s more to being a manager than we will ever see, but from what we do see, I’m pleased that Matt Quatraro is the Royals manager and I’m confident that he will lead a team back to the playoffs.
