The Royals reward Picollo an Quatraro for last year’s turnaround.
The Royals improved by 30 wins last year, making a surprise post-season run. Today, they ensured that the men who led that turnaround will stay in Kansas City for awhile.
The team announced today they have signed General Manager J.J. Picollo to a contract extension through 2030 with a club option for 2031. Picollo was named general manager in September of 2021 and took over player personnel decisions when the Royals dismissed Moore a year later in 2022. He brought in manager Matt Quatraro from the Rays and implemented a more analytics-oriented approach to roster building and player development.
The Royals also announced they have exercised the 2026 club option on manager Matt Quatraro. Quatraro has managed the Royals the last two years and has a 142-182 record. He finished second in AL Manager of the Year voting in 2024 after leading the Royals to become just the sixth team since 1961 to have a 30-win improvement from one season to the next.
Picollo has been with the club since 2006, when he joined Dayton Moore as Director of Player Development. He eventually became Assistant General Manager under Moore as the team won two pennants and a championship in 2015, taking over in 2023. The team lost 106 games in his first season, but he went on to spend $110 million on free agents that off-season to help engineer a turnaround. The team won 86 games in 2024 – becoming just the second team to make the playoffs the year after losing 100 games. They defeated the Orioles in the Wild Card round and fell to the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series in four games.
In addition to spending on free agents, Picollo managed negotiations on a long-term deal for star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. that will keep him in Kansas City through the end of the decade. He also managed to improve the bullpen at the trade deadline with the integral acquisition of reliever Lucas Erceg, and made a bold trade this off-season to improve the lineup, acquiring second baseman Jonathan India.
The Royals had a remarkable season last year and seem to be on the right track to more sustainable success. The farm system has made incremental, but positive improvements. The club has invested in its players, with Picollo identifying productive free agents like Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. He also plucked Cole Ragans from the Rangers organization in a 2023 trade in a move that has paid off immediately with Ragans emerging as one of the best pitchers in baseball, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting last year.
Most importantly, the process for decision-making has taken on more of a data-driven approach, bringing the Royals into the 21st century with more successful teams. There is still more work to be done, but the days of the Royals being lampooned for outmoded thinking with articles detailing antiquated approaches to development seem to be over.
Ownership has committed to Picollo and Quatraro, now they will have to live up to the higher expectations.