Royals announce baseball ops promotions

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals announced another wave of promotions on their baseball operations staff Tuesday, part of the reshuffling they have done since Dayton Moore became the president of baseball operations and J.J. Picollo became the general manager at the end of the 2021 season.

Alec Zumwalt has been promoted to senior director of player development/hitting performance after two seasons as the director of hitting performance. The former scout’s work was integral to the turnaround several Royals hitting prospects saw this season, as well as the implementation of a new hitting program that better serves the organization’s prospects as they rise through the system. That will continue in 2022, with Zumwalt overseeing all facets of player development.

Paul Gibson will continue to oversee the pitching side, now promoted to senior director of pitching. This season will mark Gibson’s 36th season in professional baseball, which includes a 19-year playing career.

Mitch Maier has been promoted to director of player development/field coordinator after two seasons as the director of baseball operations. After playing parts of six seasons with the Royals, Maier served as Kansas City’s first-base coach during the 2018 and ’19 seasons. His new role includes overseeing the Royals’ Minor League system. Malcom Culver, previously the assistant director of baseball operations, will continue to assist Maier and has been promoted to assistant director of player development.

Ryan Maid now holds the title of senior director of behavioral sciences and will continue to oversee that growing department in the organization. Jack Monahan has been promoted to director of baseball operations/scouting and player development after five seasons as the coordinator of scouting operations.

Nick Leto is now the director of Arizona operations/scouting assistant after 14 seasons managing the Royals’ Arizona operations, which includes a vast array of duties like travel coordination and running the daily operations of the Arizona facility. He also has assisted with player development, as well as amateur and international scouting, and he will take on a more prominent role within those departments now, too.

Kristin Lock was promoted to manager of baseball administration after spending the last three seasons as the assistant to baseball operations/administration.

COVID testing at The K
To meet the increase in demand for COVID-19 testing due to the surge in cases, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services opened a temporary testing site this week at the home of the Royals. Hundreds of people have shown up at Kauffman Stadium for the drive-through event, which is happening in Lot L, east of the stadium.

Those hoping to get tested must pre-register online to make an appointment, and while this week’s slots are filled up, appointments are being accepted for Jan. 18 and 19. Appointments run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT.