Royals GM JJ Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro held their end-of-the-year press conference on Tuesday, September 30th, at Kauffman Stadium. The full press conference can be found on YouTube in the embedded video below.
With the Wild Card games beginning on Tuesday afternoon, it was disappointing to see Picollo and Quatraro in the press room at the K rather than on the field prepping for a potential Wild Card game, as was the case last season (when they played in Baltimore and swept the Orioles in two games).
Many people have already shared thorough analyses of the Royals’ press conference yesterday, including MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers.
Thus, I will not introduce any new perspectives to this post that have probably not been covered by Anne Rogers, David Lesky at Inside the Crown, or Craig Brown at Into the Fountains. Instead, I wanted to share my own takeaways and thoughts from three specific quotes from yesterday’s reflective press conference from the Royals’ top brass, in response to their 82-80 season in 2025.
Here are three items that stuck out from Tuesday’s press conference and what they could mean for the impending offseason. Kudos to Royals Review for doing an excellent job of covering the press conference for those who were at work and couldn’t watch it live. I will be using Tweets from them and Rogers to cite each tidbit.
“We Took A Step Back”
Quatraro led off the press conference with a poignant quote regarding the Royals’ challenges this season, particularly in terms of injuries and underperformance.
Quatraro is just pointing out a pretty simple reality: the Royals won fewer games in 2025 than they did in 2025.
Last season, Kansas City went 86-76, made it to the postseason, beat the Orioles in the Wild Card in Baltimore, and lost to the Yankees in four games (though there were some great playoff moments, including a game-tying base hit from Michael Massey in Game 3 that had the stadium erupting).
This season? They won 82 games, four fewer than a year ago. They didn’t make the postseason and finished behind the Guardians and Tigers in the AL Central division.
I appreciate Q’s honesty here, while maintaining a clear perspective.
I do think that the Royals had stronger processes this season, though it didn’t really come to fruition until the second half. They developed good pitching depth, had a much better bullpen, and the offense started to look like an above-average group once they got better professional hitters on the roster after the All-Star Break.
And yet, this was a team that was expected to return to the postseason and challenge for an AL Central Division title. They didn’t do that, and Quatraro called them out on it. This is a much different era of Royals baseball, where platitudes aren’t enough. Getting 82 wins would be great for most Royals teams in other seasons.
That wasn’t the case, according to Q, which makes me hopeful that they will be even more motivated this Spring Training after falling short of their playoff expectations.
“Thought the Trade Worked for Both Teams”
Quatraro and Picollo both shared their thoughts about Jonathan India, who struggled in his first season with the Kansas City Royals.
In 136 games and 567 plate appearances, the 28-year-old former Florida product posted a .233/.323/.346 slash with nine home runs, an 89 wRC+, and -0.3 fWAR. All those numbers are career-worsts for India, which is a significant disappointment since Royals fans expected him to be a force at the top of the lineup in Kansas City, much like he was in Cincinnati.
However, Quatraro and Picollo were much more optimistic about India’s first go-around with the Royals.
Based on his Statcast numbers, India was still solid in his plate discipline and on-base ability. Those categories didn’t change much from his time in Cincinnati. His chase rate ranked in the 96th percentile, and his whiff rate and Z-Contact% ranked in the 78th and 79th percentiles, respectively. That was encouraging to see, despite the bad overall numbers.
The Royals have one more year of club control with India, who becomes a free agent after the 2026 season. Based on these quotes, I would think that Picollo will bring India back for next season. Furthermore, it also sounds like Quatraro will keep him solely at second base, rather than moving him around in left field and third base, as they did at the beginning of the year.
That said, I do think Picollo is more willing to be flexible with players, even after comments that seemed “definitive” about their future.
Last season, Picollo was adamant that Brady Singer would be a key piece of their rotation for 2026. Not too long after, he traded Singer for India, and the rest is history. This isn’t the Dayton Moore era, where a single comment about a player’s future or roster spot would often come to fruition, whether positive or not.
At the very least, it appears that the Royals are open to India returning. What that role will be, however, is yet to be determined. Neither Quatraro nor Picollo committed to regular playing time for India next season in their press conference.
I think if he does come back, it may not be in a regular role. Instead, it would be a platoon one with Massey, who finished the season strong (.375 average, .896 OPS in 68 plate appearances in the second half).
“Most of Our Staff Is Coming Back”
The biggest news from Tuesday’s press conference is that hitting coach Alec Zumwalt will return for 2026. However, Picollo cited other changes that would occur within the staff and organization to help improve the Royals’ hitting development at both the Major and Minor League levels.
Currently, the only confirmed information we have is that Zumwalt will continue to lead the Royals on the hitting side next season. While I advocated for a change earlier in the season, I am okay with him returning in 2026.
First off, the Royals were a much better team in the second half, once they got some “average” talent. Notice how I said “average.” The Royals didn’t add any superstars at the Trade Deadline. Instead, they got polished and veteran hitters who had solid skill sets that seemed to thrive in the Royals environment.
Adam Frazier hit .298 with a 98 wRC+ in 197 plate appearances with the Royals. Mike Yastrzemski became a mainstay at leadoff, especially against right-handed starting pitchers. In 50 games and 186 plate appearances, Yaz posted a 127 wRC+ and 1.3 fWAR, both better marks than his 97-game sample with the Giants this year (95 wRC+ and 1.0 fWAR).
Yaz’s campaign in KC was so encouraging that Picollo mentioned there may be an opportunity for him to return with the Royals in 2026.
Even beyond just Frazier and Yaz, the numbers are pretty startling as a team.
In the first half, the Royals hitters had a .294 wOBA and 84 wRC+, with the latter ranking 27th in baseball (only the White Sox, Pirates, and Rockies were worse).
In the second half? They ranked 11th in baseball with a 106 wRC+, and they also had a .338 xwOBA, which ranked fourth among all teams. Their xwOBA was actually 12 points higher than their actual wOBA in the second half, which shows that they didn’t have the most excellent batted-ball luck in 2026.
Based on these factors, I could see the Royals believing that Zumwalt’s processes were working, but that some tweaks were still needed to get this squad to where they need to be (i.e., a playoff team). That may require not just new players, but also new assistant hitting coaches.
Notice how Picollo didn’t mention Keoni DeRenne or Joe Dillon coming back, unlike Zumwalt. It wouldn’t surprise me if one or both of those coaches are no longer with the Major League staff in 2026. It seems pretty purposeful that Picollo would mention Zumwalt, but not DeRenne or Dillon.
It also appears that Picollo is making changes at the organizational level, as Rogers reported that Hitting Coordinator Drew Saylor will not be renewed for the upcoming season.
The Saylor move is particularly poignant when considering the entire picture.
Saylor was Picollo’s hire when Picollo took on more responsibilities as assistant GM in 2019. Initially, Saylor’s approach and tutelage were successful, mainly when he worked with Zumwalt (before Zumwalt became MLB hitting coach). While Saylor had success with players like Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia, both in the Minors and Majors, the hitting success has been more fleeting since those key players have advanced to the MLB level.
Carter Jensen has been an incredible success story for the Royals’ hitting development team. Other than that, though? There are numerous disappointments, including Jac Caglianone. The 2024 first-round pick has certainly done his part to “master” Minor League hitting, but as Picollo pointed out in his press conference, there are some much-needed adjustments from Jac this offseason.
I am sure Saylor was a difficult move to make for Picollo, especially considering their personal history. However, as Picollo has demonstrated in his time as GM, he’s willing to make those tough decisions to ensure the competitive future of this Royals team.
Picollo is bringing back Zumwalt, but he’s making it clear that the “band” is not coming back as before. Changes are already being made. More will be made. Zumwalt will have the opportunity to fully realize his vision and introduce new perspectives that will help the Royals avoid the pitfalls they experienced in the previous season.
If it’s more of the same in 2026, or worse, Zumwalt, like Saylor, will be the next one to go.
Photo Credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images