By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Royals has promoted general manager Dayton Moore to club president Tuesday. The team also elevated longtime assistant GM J.J. Picollo to GM.
The 54-year-old Moore presided over one of the most remarkable turnarounds in baseball history, leading them to consecutive World Series and the 2015 title.
"I'm really excited about what Dayton can do for us in this role," Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman said. "He's totally prepared. He talks to me about expanding his role and becoming more effective and I can't wait to see that."
Moore, who has been overseeing one of the more successful eras in Royals history, is excited to begin a new chapter within the organization.
"I'm as fired up as I've ever been working in baseball," Moore said. "We love this game and we love the people in this game and we just can't wait to go to work on their behalf."
Picollo has long been considered Moore's heir apparent in Kansas City. They both came to the Royals in 2006. Picollo credits the team's collaborative leadership efforts over the last 15 years as reason for the team's successes.
"That's something that's really stood out as I take a step back and look at the things we are accomplishing and will accomplish," Picollo said. "It's because of that collaboration and that open mindedness. We will continue down that road."
On top of the World Series appearances, the Royals have racked up 18 Gold Gloves, 30 All-Star Game selections, six Silver Sluggers and a Cy Young Award winner since 2006.
Picollo started with the Royals as director of player development before being promoted to the role of assistant GM in 2015. As he becomes the seventh manager in the Royals' history, Sherman expressed high confidence in Picollo, particularly crediting him for modernizing the franchise in recent years.
"When you think about data science and analytics and data capture and technology and all of the tools that we have for player development," Sherman said, "J.J. helped lead us to that evolution."
That said, Picollo reminded everyone on Tuesday that the most important role he and everyone else in the front office plays is making the Royals a great franchise for players to be a part of.
"Everything we always get to do is about players," he said. "I mean, we can't forget that. We're here to serve these players. Whether it's the coaches in the room, front office in the back here, from an ownership standpoint, we don't exist without players."
New Royals stadium?
Sherman confirmed Tuesday that the Royals are evaluating options for a new stadium once their lease expires at the 57-year-old Kauffman in 2031. Sherman says a new downtown ballpark is a possibility.
"We need start thinking about plans for our stadium over the next 5-10 years," Sherman stated. "Wherever we play, the criteria and the process will result in meaningful community impact that is real and measurable."
The Royals have to make a decision in the next couple of years to look elsewhere, or press on with more renovations at Truman Sports Complex, which is also home to Arrowhead Stadium and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sherman says the Royals are working with the Chiefs and Jackson County on those plans.
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