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Royals make coaching changes; Perez signs extension

By 3BPlay
11/02/2025

10/24 -- Royals part ways with minor league coordinator: Kansas City and minor league hitting coordinator Drew Saylor have decided to part ways, per a report from Anne Rogers at MLB.com. Saylor was thought of as a potential assistant to current hitting coach Alec Zumwalt, but that is no longer a possibility after this news.

Soon after expressing confidence in Zumwalt's position just after the regular season ended, the Royals did not renew the contracts of assistant coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon. Now with Saylor gone, that's a big chunk of their hitting program that produced such players as Bobby Witt, Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Nick Pratto, and MJ Melendez.

The latter two have not produced much at the big-league level, but continued to put up solid numbers in Triple-A and have a long track record of excellent production in the minors. However, both Pratto and Melendez could be on the chopping block as the former is set to hit free agency for the first time, and the latter has been talked about as one of the most likely non-tender candidates.

Typically, assistants are not named until later in the offseason, around the time of the Winter Meetings in early to mid-December.

10/26 -- Other MLB teams making note of Royals' pitching surplus: Currently, the Royals legitimately go ten-deep in their rotation; likely just nine since the Royals have already signaled that they don't intend to exercise their end of a mutual option with Michael Lorenzen.

With all of the injuries and uncertainty, they went out and acquired lefty Bailey Falter from the Pirates and right-handers Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert from the Padres at the deadline for not a ton in return, with catcher Freddy Fermin the only semi-big loss.

Throw in the fact that they will likely put both Ben Kudrna and Frank Mozzicato on the 40-man in a few weeks to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, there is sure to be some movement from the major league staff. Falter in particular, because he's arbitration-eligible for only the second time and stands to earn about $4 million in arbitration per Fangraphs.

But there's also the chance that the Royals could part ways with top-line starter Kris Bubic, who made his first All-Star team this season before going down on the 60-day IL with a shoulder ailment. Teams are very likely to inquire about him to check on his medical status, especially teams that are already in playoff contention or feel they can now compete in 2026 (which should include the Royals).

With just one year of control remaining, however, that might limit what the Royals could seek in return. JJ Picollo noted that Bubic, who is now off the injured list, is at 'about 90%' when it comes to being able to pitch in a game today in a recent interview.

"He's been doing some light throwing, simulated games," Picollo said during the post-season press conference a few weeks ago. "Today, I don't think he could pitch a full game, but he could probably go two or three innings at normal intensity. Assuming no setbacks, he'll be ready for Opening Day."

It's less likely that the Royals would trade others, such as Cole Ragans or Noah Cameron, power lefties with multiple years of control. Veterans Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha have bigger deals that would be hard to move, so it also seems unlikely they would be moved without significant salary concessions.

10/28 -- Brewers' Dawson signed to one-year deal as assistant: Brewers assistant hitting coach Connor Dawson has finalized a deal to join the Royals' staff as a hitting coach under Alec Zumwalt, reported by David Lesky of InsideTheCrown, a fan site for the club.

Al LeBoeuf, the hitting coach for the Brewers, took a leave of absence earlier in the season after undergoing major surgery, leaving Dawson as the team's primary hitting coach for the remainder of the season. LeBoeuf is expected to be back for 2026, but now Dawson will get a chance to help out his hometown team as he went to high school at nearby Olathe North, about 20-30 minutes from the stadium.

The team did not renew the contracts of assistants Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon, along with minor league hitting coordinator Drew Saylor. There is talk that Zumwalt could eventually re-take his minor league hitting coordinator role and have Dawson take over the following year (perhaps as soon as 2027), but that's purely speculation at this point.

Carrying an assistant coach for the pitching and hitting coach spots is not unusual, but the Royals had at one time three assistant hitting coaches in Matt Quatraro's first year as the manager.

Vital throws four pitches (four-seamer, two-seamer, curve, changeup), and has the ability to land them all for strikes. He doesn't have the top-end velocity, but throws with plenty of movement and has solid command for his age group.

10/30 -- Royals lose top pitching assistant to the White Sox: As the Royals gain an assistant on the hitting side, they lose an assistant on the pitching side. Zach Bove, the assistant pitching coach to Brian Sweeney, is going to get the chance to head up his own pitching staff under Will Venable on the South side.

KC-area native Connor Dawson is returning home to join the Royals' staff as an assistant hitting coach under Alec Zumwalt. JJ Picollo noted they are looking to add one more assistant to that side, but now they'll have to look for a new assistant pitching coach as well.

Bove worked in the minors under senior pitching performance director Paul Gibson before moving up to the big-league staff under Sweeney. Just thirty-seven, he'll be one of the youngest lead pitching coaches in the entire league.

"Zach really deserves the chance to run his own staff; just wish it wasn't with a division rival, but he'll do some good work there," Quatraro said in his recent weekly sit-down. "My guess is that we'll do a league-wide search to replace him, but I know some of the guys in the minors who I think would do a great job as well."

White Sox VP of baseball operations Chris Getz, a former Royals player himself, has a very good working relationship with JJ Picollo and the Kansas City front office, so it seems logical that he would want to pick the brains of a team that's further along in their rebuild.

"Kansas City under Matt Quatraro and his staff know how to identify coaching talent that can help develop their own players, and it's the right time to bring some fresh ideas into the organization," Getz said in a statement. "Zach Bove fits that mold, and we're excited to have him in Chicago and hope that he can hit the ground running."

10/30 -- It's official! Perez to remain a Royal, signs extension: With a decision looming in a matter of days upon the World Series' conclusion, the Royals and Salvador Perez have hammered out an extension that will keep him in Royal blue for at least the next two seasons.

He signed a two-year, $25 million deal with an undisclosed amount of deferred money and a $7 million signing bonus. The deferred money is set to be paid out in the year following Perez' retirement, leaving open the possibility that he could yet return upon the end of the 2027 season. There weren't any incentives or other options to speak of, so it appears to be a straight-up, fully-guaranteed deal.

It's unclear about how the money is structured in terms of yearly salary, but it's believed that it's split into an equal amount of money each season, those amounts depending on how much of the $25 million is deferred. The new contract also voids the $13.5 million team option.

"I love Kansas City, this city has given so much to me over the last nineteen years and counting," he said in a statement to the fans via his social media accounts. "But there's still much that I want to give back; the fans here are the best and most supportive in baseball, and deserve a consistent winner that competes for championships. I'm going to do my best to help bring that back and keep it here."

Owner John Sherman, vice-president for baseball operations JJ Picollo, and manager Matt Quatraro all released a joint statement saying that "we're beyond thrilled that Salvador has decided to continue to make Kansas City his home for the foreseeable future. We feel deep down that his name is going to be mentioned amongst the greats not only here in Kansas City, but throughout league history."

Despite being in his mid-30's and playing one of the most physically and mentally-demanding positions in all of sports, Perez has continued to stay productive at the plate well into his 30's with twenty-four homeruns, forty-two doubles, and eighty-eight RBI in 2025.

The forty-two doubles smashed his old career high mark, and he sits just twenty-one homeruns away from breaking George Brett's career homerun mark in team history. In addition, he is less than 300 hits away from 2,000. Only seven primary catchers have ever reached that mark.