AP source: Royals hire Rays’ Quatraro as new manager

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have hired Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as their new manager, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club had yet to announce the move.

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.

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.

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