In the offseason before the 2023 season, Royals owner John Sherman decided to blow it all up and start from scratch. After six consecutive losing seasons and a seven-year playoff drought, the Royals elected to fire long-time President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore and manager Mike Matheny.
Dayton Moore had served as the head of Royals baseball operations for 16 years, making the World Series twice and winning it once in 2015. Matheny was hired to replace legendary manager Ned Yost, who stepped
down from the role after the 2019 season. But three seasons of losing baseball, combined with struggles to build a strong farm system, caused Sherman to wipe the organization’s slate clean.
The Royals promoted JJ Piccolo to run baseball operations, and he hired Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as manager, hoping the new staff could change the organization’s trajectory. The two inherited a rough situation, and the Royals had their worst season in franchise history, losing 106 games in 2023. Under Quatraro, the team broke out to win 86 games, making the playoffs for the first time since 2025, ultimately losing in the ALDS. Quatraro was a Manager of the Year candidate..
Entering the 2025 season, expectations for the Royals were high. The 2025 season has been a rollercoaster, with offensive struggles plaguing the Royals all year. Injuries to the rotation have resulted in some long, cold stretches. There were some flashes, but the inconsistency has been cause for frustration, with plenty of blame to go around. Much of the blame landed on manager Matt Quatraro, who has struggled to find a winning formula for the offense.
The Royals’ outfield has been abysmal offensively. The team experimented with Hunter Renfroe, Michael Massey, MJ Melendez, Jonathan India, Jac Caglianone, John Rave, Drew Waters, and Kyle Isbel, all of whom struggled to find much success at the plate. Before the deadline, the team got aggressive, adding Mike Yastzremski, Randall Grichuk, and Adam Frazier to provide an offensive spark down the stretch. Still, their outfielders have combined to hit .225/.283/.346, with a wRC+ of 71 that is the worst in baseball at the position.
The struggles of the outfield have been on full display, and were only compounded by struggles from other members of the offense. Vinnie Pasquantino got off to a brutal start to the season, and Michael Massey was never able to get right at the plate before going on the IL. Bobby Witt Jr. is having another great season, but has taken a step back offensively from his all-time performance in 2024.
The Royals may have had the best rotation in baseball in 2024, but injuries to Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen have left the team scrambling. They got desperate yet again, adding Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek, and Bailey Falter at the deadline. Falter has been shaky, Seth Lugo has struggled, and inconsistency from Carlos Estévez has raised concern and caused some of the recent struggles for the Royals.
On the other hand, the Royals have found some stability from other young players having breakout years. Maikel Garcia was the Royals’ primary leadoff hitter in 2024, where he struggled quite a bit at the plate. In the field, Garcia has always been one of the best third basemen in baseball, but this year has found himself at the plate. On the mound, the Royals have seen an incredible rookie year from Noah Cameron, who has been consistently one of the best pitchers in the AL this season.
All this to say, nothing has gone according to plan in 2025, but through it all, Matt Quatraro and his staff have kept the Royals in the playoff race. Matt Quatraro and JJ Piccolo have shown they are not content with just being good enough, and they will do what it takes to win games. They have fought with bullpen games, new hitters, and new faces added through trade to keep themselves in the playoff conversation in 2025 and beyond.
Quatraro has not been afraid to make big changes this season. He has not been afraid to move struggling hitters down in the order. He has pulled struggling hitters from the lineup, and several have been released or optioned. In the bullpen, the team has been willing to shuffle things around, with guys like Steven Cruz being given bigger roles while moving on from Chris Stratton and other relievers. He has given young players chances to prove themselves, but has not been afraid to move on when a player has exhausted their opportunities.
Fans have forgotten the conversations around Quatraro this time last year, when he was in the conversation to be the AL manager of the year. This year, the team has struggled with several setbacks, and he has caught the brunt of the blame, something I think is completely unwarranted. It is easy to nitpick decisions managing the bullpen or the lineup for individual games, but Q has managed to keep the team afloat despite a lot of adversity in 2025.
When you go beyond just individual game management, Q and his staff have excelled in development, specifically of young pitchers. Guys like Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Steven Cruz, Angel Zeroa, and even Brady Singer have been displays of Matt Quatraro and Brian Sweeney making the most out of their young arms. Offensively, the team has had trouble developing hitters, and the offense has struggled this year, but there is optimism in the organization that things could change sooner rather than later.
The only other gripe I have seen from fans is a lack of fire and passion from Quatraro in games, something I don’t necessarily think should come from the manager. Having a level-headed manager who can evaluate situations, listen to the team members, and trust his staff is exactly what I want to see from a manager, especially in Kansas City, where a clear game plan is so important. The Royals’ big stadium makes it even harder to be a manager. Relying on defense, speed, and contact tools makes it much more complicated to manage the Kansas City offense.
There are 162 games in the MLB season, and there are plenty of opportunities for a manager to make poor decisions. Every manager makes mistakes, and there was even a time in the early 2010s when Royals fans were insistent that the team fire Ned Yost, who went on to lead the team to the World Series twice and may go down as one of the best managers in team history.
Even the best of the best will put in the wrong reliever or start the wrong right fielder, and as a baseball manager, the focus will always be on your mistakes. When you make the right decision, no one will notice, but this is par for the course and is to be expected with any manager. Quatraro’s track record has had far more successes than failures, and calls for his firing are simply misguided. Q will always be seen in the shadow of Ned Yost, but as of today, he has not only been a good manager, he has been one of the better ones in all of baseball.
