The Kansas City Royals are making a change in their hitting department.
On Monday, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo confirmed to The Star that the club will not retain assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon for the 2026 season.
MLB.com’s Anne Rogers was first to report.
“They are both tremendous workers and both had a positive impact on the success that we had as a team last year and this year,” Picollo told The Star. “So we are grateful that they were here in the organization. And there comes a time when you feel like you need to make a change.”
The Royals have operated with three hitting coaches for the last two seasons. DeRenne and Dillon held instrumental roles in supporting hitting coach Alec Zumwalt.
DeRenne joined the Royals organization in 2020 before taking the assistant hitting coach position during the 2022 campaign. Dillon was hired two seasons ago.
In 2024, the Royals averaged 4.46 runs per game. It culminated in a postseason appearance and better production throughout the lineup. However, the offense regressed in 2025, averaging 4.02 runs per game — which ranked 26th in the league.
A lot of factors contributed to the downturn in production. The Royals struggled early with runners in scoring position. There were multiple games where the offense was stagnant in critical moments.
As a result, the Royals scored 84 fewer runs in 2025. The stark difference proved costly as the club finished 82-80 and outside of playoff contention.
“You know, this is one of those times that I think we’re trying to get a little bit more diverse in our backgrounds and who is assisting Alec in that lead position,” Picollo said. “And unfortunately, with that thought, we felt like we needed to go outside and find somebody that fits the needs that complement Alec the best.”
Picollo hinted at potential changes during the Royals’ end-of-season news conference. The club will now evaluate candidates for the hitting department roles. It’s possible the Royals keep three hitting coaches to better connect with the offensive personnel.
This season, the Royals also had Miguel Garcia available to help in different capacities with the hitting staff.
“It certainly seems to make sense to have two (assistant hitting coaches),” Picollo said. “You know, we also have Miguel Garcia, who does a lot of work in the cage. Once we get into the process — we talk to different coaches and Alec is able to think about this more — I think it will be more clearly defined as we go.”
The Royals decided to keep Zumwalt on board after the season. He has built strong relationships with the players and had a key role in the growth of guys like Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia.
Garcia’s 2025 season was a prime example. Zumwalt helped him reconfigure his batting stance by adding a toe-tap to his approach. It allowed Garcia to stay balanced at the plate and produce a career year.
Garcia also made his first All-Star team after posting a .286 batting average with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs. The Royals had two players hit at least 30 home runs and record 100 RBIs — Pasquantino and Salvador Perez.
Meanwhile, Witt led the majors with 184 hits and 47 doubles. He finished with a .295 batting average, 23 homers, 88 RBIs and an .852 OPS.
The Royals also saw top prospects Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen make their Major League Baseball debuts. Both produced highlight moments, including Jensen’s 482-foot homer in the regular-season finale.
It’s expected that both Caglianone and Jensen will compete in spring training to be a part of the 2026 opening day roster.
The Royals will look to strike a balance to better serve their offensive attack. Picollo stated the search has begun but currently stands without a timetable.
“Right now, we are trying to define: What are the things we are looking for? What’s the criteria? What are the skill set and the experience levels that we might be looking for?” Picollo said. “So once we build that out and we have a very clear definition of what we are looking for, then we’ll move forward and start interviewing candidates.”
So, how close are the Royals?
Picollo believes the team has a solid foundation to build upon. The next decision on assistant hitting coaches could mirror what the club has done in its pitching department.
Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney and assistant Zach Bove have worked well in conjunction. They work jointly alongside bullpen coach Mitch Stetter to provide expertise across multiple areas within the pitching staff.
“I think I would say mirror in the sense that the skills of each of those pitching coaches are different,” Picollo said. “They all have strengths that blend well with each other. So I think that type of balance is what we are trying to strike.”
How the Royals rebuild their hitting department could guide their offseason plans. The club will enter the winter months looking to improve its outfield production. And it’s possible the Royals could pursue an impact bat via free agency or trade.
For now, the club will venture into finding the best collection of hitting coaches to better serve the offense moving forward.
“It’s all to be determined,” Picollo said. “I mean, there is a lot of physical work that those guys do. They are in the cages from 2 o’clock all the way through until the end of the game. So there is a lot of physical work that needs to be done. You’ve got to look at the workload and how we can cover the demands of the job and the demands of the hitter. But you also want to have the right balance.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
