It’s that time of year again when we Americans pause to give thanks.
Did you know Canada also has a Thanksgiving? I only learned that from listening to Puck Soup with Ryan Lambert and Sean McIndoe as they refer to this Thursday as “American Thanksgiving.” That led me to believe there were other versions. This being a hockey podcast, and McIndoe being a Canadian (I’m not sure about Lambert), led me to believe our good neighbors to the north had one.
Sure enough, they do, and it’s celebrated in October on either a Sunday or Monday.
Some recent managerial and front office hirings around the Majors have me very thankful that my team has a solid leadership base in manager Matt Quatraro and executive vice president and general manager J.J. Piccolo. Piccolo took over from GMDM before Q arrived, but the two have worked well together for the past three seasons as they continue to build and develop a contender.
Piccolo is entering his 20th season with the Royals. Before that, he worked with the Braves in player development and scouting. Before that he “served as Recruiting Coordinator and Hitting/Catching Instructor” for half a decade between George Mason University and George Washington University.
Quatraro is another lifer, though he hasn’t spent nearly as long with the Royals. Kansas City poached him from Tampa Bay’s staff where he’d served as the third base coach before being promoted to bench coach. Prior to that, he spent time in Cleveland’s organization—during the same time as a certain minority owner in the franchise. He began his coaching career with, as you might have guessed, the Rays.
The two have worked well together despite the team finishing the first full season under their leadership with an abysmal record of 56-106. Since then, the Royals have gone 168-156 with one playoff appearance in which the team knocked out the favored Baltimore Orioles before falling to the eventual American League champions, the Yankees.
Last season, the Royals grinded out another winning season, but fell short of the playoffs. It was only a disappointment because of the previous season’s success.
Going into this offseason and the 2026 regular season, as a Royals fan, I’m very glad to have these two men in charge of the baseball club.
Especially in light of some recent hirings by other teams.
The most intriguing hire comes out of San Francisco. The Giants, under the guidance of former star catcher Buster Posey, hired Tony Vitello to be the team’s next manager. Vitello, who played and coached for Mizzou, most recently managed the Tennessee Volunteers, and becomes the first ever MLB manager to come directly from the college level.
In other sports, that’s not the out of the norm. The NFL’s Chargers are coached by Jim Harbaugh who went there after winning it all in college with Michigan. Pete Carroll, current head coach of the Raiders, left his job at USC for the Seahawks. There are, of course, those who made the jump and utterly failed: Chip Kelly, Urban Meyer, Bobby Petrino, Greg Schiano, etc.
A coach moving up to the pros from college has also happened in the NBA (recently Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens but also John Beilein), the NHL (Jim Montgomery, Dave Hakstol, David Quinn), and even the MLS (Caleb Porter, who went to the Timbers from Akron).
The point is, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for an MLB team to do it, especially when others with no coaching experience have been hired straight to manager. Back when it was clear the Royals were ready to move on from Ned Yost, I wrote at KC Kingdom that the team shouldn’t limit their search to just the pros, but should look at the college level. They didn’t, instead going with Mike Matheny, which was very clearly the plan. GMDM shortchanged the Royals then by not casting a wider net. When you’re a team like the Royals, what’s the harm?
Well, let me clarify that—when you’re a team like the 2019 version of the Royals, what’s the harm? The move makes sense for the Giants, a team that hasn’t moved past the divisional series since 2014, not for a team like the present-day Royals.
That’s a swing I wouldn’t mind my rebuilding, stuck-in-the-mud team taking. Promoting a manager from interim to full-time who went 36-86 last year while also hiring your top exec away from the woeful Cleveland Browns is another matter altogether. As I often wonder, what in the hell are the Rockies thinking?
I couldn’t imagine being a Rockies fan right now. Where’s the hope? There appeared to be some when the team made a change at manager early last year before moving on from GM Bill Schmidt after the season, but that’s gone down the drain with the recent hires. After Bud Black went 7-33 to begin the year, the Rockies rallied to a .295 winning percentage under Warren Schaefer, recently named the full-time manager. Then owner Dick Manfort hired Paul DePodesta, who’d been with the Browns since 2016.
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 13: From left, Colorado Rockies Executive Vice President Walker Monfort, new President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta and owner Dick Monfort during Depodesta’s introductory press conference at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, November 13, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) Denver Post via Getty Images
During that time, the Browns went 57-87-1.
Staying the National League West, the Padres saw their manager retire and replaced him with former reliever Craig Stammen, who retired during the 2023 season. He’s been with the Padres organization since 2017, first as a relief pitcher, then as an assistant on the coaching staff and working with the front office.
First-time manager in a division with the two-time defending champs? Not too inspiring, though better than a dude with a .295 winning clip.
Also in California, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of America of North America hired former catcher Kurt Suzuki to be the team’s next manager. Has he managed before? Nope. Did he receive a multi-year deal? Lolz, have you heard of Arte Moreno? The Angels barely inspire more confidence than the Rockies, though they actually made a stellar trade recently, confusing us all.
Elsewhere, the Rangers, who are remolding their roster, hired former NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker to replace the retired Bruce Bochy; the Orioles hired a man allegedly named Craig Albernaz to replace Brandon Hyde (with a name like that, who’s to blame Baltimore?); the Twins twinsed it up by hiring Derek Shelton, their former bench coach who went 306-440 in Pittsburgh; the Nationals hired a 33-year-old; and the Braves hired former Major League shortstop Walt Weis, who previously managed the Rockies to a record of 283-365 between 2013 and 2016.
Do any of these nine hires inspire much confidence? While Schumaker won Manager of the Year after his first season with the Marlins, when they went 84-78, they immediately dropped to 62-100. That’s his entire managerial experience.
I’m all about hiring outside of the box and giving guys second chances, but I’m gonna predict that by 2029, all nine teams that hired new managers this offseason will again be hiring new managers.
On the note of Piccolo and front offices, there’s been plenty of turnover there, too, but the most curious (in a bad way) situation is happening across the state.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – SEPTEMBER 21: John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals throws out the first pitch prior to a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on September 21, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) Getty Images
In January of 2024, the Cardinals hired Chaim Bloom, who previously ran the Red Sox. Over a year ago, Cardinals ownership decided that Bloom would take over the offseason—this offseason. During last season, then, longtime exec John Mozeliak still, in theory, ran the front office. As pretty much anyone could have foreseen, Mo didn’t—and maybe couldn’t—make many moves during the regular season even when it became apparent the team wasn’t going anywhere.
Earlier the day of this writing, Bloom started the sell-off by trading starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Red Sox for two young(er) pitchers. But Gray’s value, as well as the rest of the team’s, would have been higher during the season. If only Mo hadn’t been handcuffed.
Strangely, the same thing is happening to St. Louis’ hockey team, my beloved Blues, who have already hired and announced Doug Armstong’s successor but are allowing Army to run the team this season. And guess what? The Blues are struggling. Will ownership allow Army to do his job or will they make him run things by Alexander Steen, the man who’s going to replace him? Not a smooth operation.
While at least ten teams look be in a rudderless mess, the Royals made smart hires in replacing GMDM and Matheny.
And that makes me very thankful to be a Kansas City Royals fan.