The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl but the Royals made some headlines in Kansas City this week by signing shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a massive contract extension. The deal could go as long as 14 years with club options on top of the 11 years that are guaranteed with Witt making $288.7 million over the next decade-plus.
Former Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore, who drafted Witt with the second overall pick in 2019, had high praise for the young star while appearing on the Audacy original podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” this week.
“We debated whether to put him on the team in 2021. Mike Matheny was certainly open to that. I felt at the end of the day it probably wasn’t the right thing to do for Jr., although I think if we would’ve put him on the team he would’ve handled his own,” Moore said (13:20 in player above). “He would’ve had ups and downs and struggles, but I think it’s better to be 100% sure when you’re dealing with the progression of young players to the major leagues and transitioning to the major-league level.
Plus we knew we probably weren’t going to be this team that would win a lot of games in 2021, and we felt that it was probably better for Jr. to be in the minor leagues and slow his progress down.”
The Royals were still in the early stages of their rebuild as the 2020s began. They had a winning percentage of .433 in the shortened 2020 season and .457 in 2021. They’ve been trending in the wrong direction for the past two years, but Witt should help them get back on track.
Witt didn’t make his MLB debut until 2022 but he expected to be on the team out of camp in 2021.
“I think that by him going to Double-A and experiencing that probably really helped him. But he expected to be on the team in 2021,” Moore continued. “He was disappointed when we sent him out and sitting with him in the office in spring training and having that discussion with him. There was frustration, there was hurt, there was disappointment in his face, but there was also a high level of determination.
“The last thing he said when he left the office is this is going to motivate him even more. So he’s always had that heart to achieve and that heart to win and excel and compete that set him apart. That’s why he’s such a special player. I can tell you this, you just love watching him play. He’s worth every price of admission to come out and watch him play.”
Moore joined the Royals as their general manager way back in 2006. Kansas City hadn’t cracked the 60-win mark in either of the past two seasons but Moore was able to lead them to a World Series championship just under a decade later.
He saw stars like Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer come up with high anticipation and lead the Royals to that World Series in 2015. Moore thinks Witt has that same ability in him.
“Then there comes Bobby Witt Jr., who we got criticized and I got criticized for not having him on the team in 2021. So the anticipation of him being here, and then he had a great opening day,” Moore said. “He broke into the major leagues with a standing ovation as well. Like Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer leading the Royals, along with others, to a world championship, there’s no doubt in my mind that Bobby Witt Jr.’s got the ability and will do that as well.
“He brings that type of excitement and togetherness to a team. And obviously, he’s an elite talent who has the ability to carry a team and help you win games in multiple ways. Bobby Witt Jr. can beat you in multiple ways. He can beat you, obviously, with power, with hits, he can go the other way, he can beat you with the glove, he can beat you on the bases. He does a lot to help the team win baseball games.”
Witt finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 and then seventh in MVP voting last year. He’s had terrific numbers through two seasons and his case for MVP should only grow stronger as the Royals team around him does.