3 key takeaways from Kansas City Royals’ end-of-season press conference

Kansas City Royals fans may’ve been glued to their televisions like many baseball fans were on Tuesday as the 2025 MLB Playoffs got underway.

However, what undoubtedly also grabbed their attention on the final day of September, especially with the Royals being absent from the postseason, was the team’s end-of-season press conference, where GM J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro shared their thoughts on the season that was for the Royals this year.

A lot of ground was covered by the duo and while there was a variety of takeaways to be had, a few stood out as particularly important ones.

3 key takeaways from Royals’ end-of-season press conference

Salvador Perez will be back in Kansas City in 2026

While there was likely little doubt from the Royals faithful that their captain would be back with the team in 2026, it was refreshing nonetheless to get some sort of “official” confirmation on that.

Obviously nothing is officially official until the offseason begins after the conclusion of the postseason, J.J. Picollo seemed to confirm Perez’s presence on next year’s roster.

“We’ve already started those discussions,” Picollo said. “Obviously there’s an option we can pick up, so I think it’s safe to say that one way or another that Salvy will be in a Royals uniform in ’26.”

Perez may not have had the greatest of seasons in comparison to other years, but he was still a key contributor, especially in the run production department.

Despite his slightly below average 95 wRC+, the 35-year-old backstop still managed to club 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBI, making some impressive franchise history in the process.

With the emergence of hot prospect Carter Jensen, Perez’s catching days may be numbered moving forward, but with 68 combined games at first base and designated hitter this past season, there’s still certainly a place for him in this Royals everyday lineup next year.

Coaching staff will look similar in 2026

While this may evoke mixed emotions depending on which coach is being talked about, according to MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, J.J. Picollo said that “most of the staff” will return to the Royals’ dugout in 2025.

Again, this is surprising to a degree. Obviously with how strong their pitching staff looked in 2025, pitching coach Brian Sweeney’s job looked safe. However, even with a second-half improvement, the entire body of work in 2026 from the plate looked weak enough that it wouldn’t have been a complete shock if the Royals were to move on from hitting coach Alec Zumwalt.

Then, there’s Quatraro, who with that post All-Star break improvement paired with a winning record seemed to keep his job safe. However, it wouldn’t have been wrong if some had their doubts about his job security, given other teams with similar records in and around .500 in 2025 opted for a managerial switch, as the Texas Rangers parted ways with Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants fired Bob Melvin.

Given, Quatraro’s presence next to Picollo during the media availability followed by the GM’s comments, his position as skipper seems completely safe for the time being.

Management seems to understand offensive shortcomings

Then there’s the offense, which seems to be the consensus prime candidate for why the Royals are currently sitting at home right now.

After an offseason last year where it felt like certain positions of need weren’t addressed effectively – specifically the outfield – it was nice to hear the Royals’ brain trust admit that changes need to be made at the dish.

“There’s a certain type of game we need to play and it’s a complete game,” Picollo said. “It’s not just about SLG.”

The Royals GM would go on to praise the quartet in the heart of the the order in Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez for the seasons they had, but seemed to admit the rest of the order needs to pull it’s weight further.

How do we take the other nine guys and how do we get the most out of them? There’s a lot of different ways,” Picollo said. “We’ve got to figure out how to do that.”

Only time will tell how exactly this will translate into offseason moves, but the fact that Picollo and Co. see the need to improve upon a 93 wRC+ season as a team is certainly a positive.