Royals hire Matheny as manager

The Kansas City Royals found Ned Yost's successor.

Former St. Louis Cardinals skipper Mike Matheny will be the 17th manager in franchise history, the team announced Thursday.

A press conference to introduce Matheny could happen as early as Thursday, according to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

The Royals aren't expected to shake up their coaching staff under Matheny, Flanagan adds. The team will need to replace bench coach Dale Sveum, however, after he reportedly asked to be reassigned to another role.

Kansas City was looking for a new manager after Yost retired at the end of the 2019 regular season. With Yost at the helm, the club made back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, winning a championship in the latter year.

The 49-year-old Matheny managed the Cardinals for six-and-a-half seasons - including a Fall Classic berth in 2013 - before being fired during the 2018 campaign. He's worked with the Royals as a special advisor for player development since last November.

"Every department has had the pleasure to work and interact with him this past season," Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore said, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. "Through this interaction, it became very clear to our leadership team that Mike is the obvious person to lead our baseball team."

Matheny, a former major-league catcher, had a career 591-474 record with the Cardinals.

The New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates are now the only teams in the majors without a skipper.