Ned Yost to retire as Royals manager

KANSAS CITY -- Royals manager Ned Yost announced on Monday that he is stepping down as the team’s manager.

Yost, 65, led the Royals to a 22-9 postseason record for a .710 winning percentage, which still leads all managers who have managed at least 20 postseason games.

His 2014 Royals club was the first in Major League history to begin the postseason with eight consecutive victories, winning the AL Wild Card Game at home over Oakland, followed by sweeps of the Los Angeles Angels (3-0) in the Division Series and the Baltimore Orioles (4-0) in the Championship Series. That run ended in a dramatic World Series against the Giants that went seven games. The next year, Yost and the Royals won it all, defeating the Mets in the Fall Classic in five games.

Yost took over the Royals in 2010 for Trey Hillman.

“With the development of our young players and our returning veterans, I feel and hope the worst is behind us in this rebuilding phase of our organization,” said Yost. “My plan all along was to get us through the rough times then turn it over to a new manager to bring us the rest of the way. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here as your manager and will never forget the good and the hard times we had together as an organization and a fan base. I will never forget the fact that you fans supported us through it all. Kansas City will always have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to rooting the Royals on to their next World Championship very soon.”

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Rumors already have started that former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny will replace Yost, but a source close to the situation said those rumors “are wrong.” Matheny was hired as a special assistant to general manager Dayton Moore in 2018.

Moore and Yost had no comment on the matter, and both said they would address the situation on Tuesday during pregame.

Some immediate replacements for Yost would start with Yost’s own staff, namely bench coach Dale Sveum and catching coach Pedro Grifol.

Sveum took over for Yost in September of 2008 with the Brewers and finished 7-5. He managed the Cubs in 2012-2013 and finished 127-197. Sveum is well respected in the Royals' clubhouse.

Grifol has a natural tie-in with the team’s Latin players, and he has previously interviewed for managerial jobs with Houston and Baltimore.

Both Sveum and Grifol are in-tuned with the age of analytical statistics and their role in baseball strategy.

Yost is the 16th full-time manager in team history. He became the winningest skipper in franchise history by defeating the only other club he managed, the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2 on June 18, 2015, for his 411th win, one more than Royals Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog.