(610 Sports) – The Kansas City Royals have hired Matt Quatraro to be their new manager, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Quatraro replaces Mike Matheny, who was fired as part of a wide-spread shakeup within the organization after finishing with a 65-97 record for their sixth straight losing season. Quatraro was chosen by Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, who took over as head of the club’s baseball operations after the firing of longtime front-office executive Dayton Moore.
Passan notes Quatraro is "adored among players, coaches and execs, and is regarded as the ideal type to shepherd the Royals' young core."
Picollo, along with Royals owner John Sherman, had said they wanted a forward-thinking manager who was more data-driven than those of the past. They got exactly that in the 48-year-old Quatraro, who had been the bench coach in Tampa Bay since 2018 and had also been a hitting coordinator and third base coach. He previously worked on manager Terry Francona’s staff in Cleveland.
He had been a hot commodity in recent seasons, interviewing with the Mets and A’s last season for their manager jobs.
The Royals finished 65-97 this past season, finishing with a losing record for the sixth straight year. The Royals haven’t reached the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2015.