Kansas City Royals news: Royals exec interviews for Rockies opening

SB Nation

Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp has interviewed with the Rockies about leading baseball operations, according to the Athletic. [$]

When longtime Colorado Rockies executive Bill Schmidt stepped down as general

manager earlier this month, the team stated in a press release that the search for his replacement would be focused outside of the organization. Thus far, the Rockies have been true to their word. The team has interviewed at least three candidates to be their next head of baseball operations: Toronto Blue Jays executive and former Houston Astros general manager James Click, Kansas City Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman, industry sources told The Athletic on Tuesday.

Ian Cundall at Baseball America writes about the difficult 40-man roster decisions for each team. [$]

Frank Mozzicato, LHP

After an inconsistent start to his pro career since being drafted seventh overall in 2021, Mozzicato opened 2025 with a solid stretch for High-A Quad Cities and earned a Futures Game nod. His promotion to Double-A in May, however, brought significant struggles. Mozzicato posted a WHIP just under 2.00 and issued more walks than strikeouts. Mozzicato had been surprisingly effective to that point despite lighter stuff, but it seemed to finally catch up to him in the upper minors. Mozzicato’s fastball still tops out in the low 90s and he struggles to hold velocity. His secondaries show more potential, but he hasn’t been able to consistently land them for strikes. It’s unlikely the Royals protect him because of his performance stuff, but given his draft pedigree and their development investment in him, the decision might not be as straightforward as it seems.

David Lesky writes about lessons the Royals can learn from playoff teams.

All of this is not to say that striking out doesn’t matter, but also five of 12 teams were among the worst in baseball in strikeout rate. The correlation between striking out and scoring runs isn’t especially strong either. The Yankees scored more runs than anyone. The Red Sox were seventh, the Mariners were ninth and the Tigers were 11th. I don’t think this says that striking out is irrelevant because context matters. If you’re going to strike out, you need to hit the ball out of the park or have some big other slug. The Yankees also had more home runs than anyone. The Mariners had more than anyone but the Yankees and Dodgers. The Tigers were 10th.

I don’t think the Royals need to strike out more, but I do think they need to be less afraid to strike out.

North Kansas City mayor Jesse Smith says the city is in “substantial” discussions with the team over a ballpark.

“The City of North Kansas City continues to have conversations with the Kansas City Royals regarding the possibility of a stadium and related development in Kansas City,” Smith said in the release.

Smith said that he remained committed to transparency as part of the process, though he did admit that “a portion of these discussions will need to be kept confidential for a limited time period.

Shohei Ohtani says being a two-way player is not causing his slump.

Why the Dodgers look unbeatable this fall.

Nine players elect minor league free agency, including former Royals pitcher Trevor Richards.

Padres skipper Mike Shildt had issues getting along with his coaching staff, which factored into his decision to resign.

Rocco Baldelli is interested in managing again.

Carlos Rodón will miss the start of the 2026 season, but Aaron Judge won’t need surgery.

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe undergoes shoulder surgery.

Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase are banned from the Dominican Winter League.

The Qualifying Offer price is set at $22.025 million.

The Savannah Bananas will be joined by five other teams in a new barnstorming league next year.

Chicago will host the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game.

Indiana signs football coach Curt Cignetti to an eight-year, $90 million extension.