KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred were fired from the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night, shortly after the ailing franchise ended the 65-97 season with a listless 9-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
The Royals had exercised their option on Matheny’s contract for 2023 during spring training as the club hoped he would make the curve from follower to contender. But plagued by poor pitching, struggles by young position players and a lackluster group of veterans, the Royals were largely out of playoff contention by midsummer.
The disappointing on-field product prompted owner John Sherman last month to fire longtime front office manager Dayton Moore, the architect of back-to-back American League champions and the 2015 World Series title team. He was replaced by one of his longtime underlings, JJ Picollo, who made the decision to fire Matheny hours after the season ended.
“Leading the royals has been a true privilege,” Matheny said in a statement. “I’m grateful to so many, especially Dayton Moore, and the coaches and players I’ve worked with. I would like to thank Mr. John Sherman and the ownership group for the opportunity to lead their team and everyone involved in this great organization.
“I came to the Royals knowing that it was an organization of excellence and care and I was shown that care every day. Royals fans should be excited about this group of players and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow.”
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Matheny spent portions of seven seasons managing the St. Louis Cardinals, ending each with a winning record and winning the National League pennant in 2013. But after his sacking in mid-2018, he was hired by the royals in an advisory role and then tapped to succeed longtime manager Ned Yost when he retired ahead of the 2020 season.
Matheny, who was in charge of a rebuild at the works, went 26-34 during a COVID-19-shortened first season and then seemed to make progress last season as the Royals brought a slew of young prospects up front and 74- 88 finished.
Expectation was another step forward this season, but the Royals instead spent September staving off 100 losses.
Matheny finished his stint with the Royals 165-219, although perhaps the number that matters more for the club’s future is 29 – the number of players who made their major league debuts during his tenure.
“We are grateful to Mike for guiding us through some unusual times over the past three seasons,” Picollo said in a statement. “He faced these challenges head-on and helped us move forward in a positive way. We thank him for his leadership and know his impact will bode well for the future.”
Matheny became the fifth major league manager to be fired this year.
Philadelphia’s Joe Girardi was replaced on June 3 by Rob Thomson, who miraculously turned the tide to put the Phillies into the playoffs. The Angels replaced Joe Maddon with Phil Nevin four days later, Toronto’s Charlie Montoyo was replaced by John Schneider on July 13, and Rangers’ Chris Woodward was replaced by Tony Beasley on August 15.
Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa left the team for medical tests Aug. 30 and said Monday he would not be returning for 2023.
Additionally, Miami’s Don Mattingly said late last month that he would not be returning next season.
Despite being well-liked in the Kansas City clubhouse, it seemed unlikely that Matheny would be granted another season when Moore was fired last month. Sherman pointed out at the time that the change in leadership of the Department of Baseball Operations was just the beginning of far-reaching changes throughout the organization.
The Royals have struggled for years to develop pitching – they had by far the fourth-worst ERA and by far the worst WHIP of any major this season. And the ongoing struggles of their recent wave of young arms were a big reason to let go of Eldred, the pitching coach since 2018.
“The bottom line here is that it’s time for change,” Sherman said last month. “Right now there is a gap between where we are and what we expected. … I felt like we made progress in 2021 and in 2022 I don’t feel that way. There were some bright spots – I’m really happy to see the young players – but in 2022 we’re not where we expected to be.”