Sherman weighs in on Royals, downtown ballpark plans

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- On the first official day of full-squad workouts, Royals players listened to introductions and messages in the clubhouse. Manager Matt Quatraro reiterated what he’s been saying since he took the job: This is the players’ team, the coaches are here for them, and communication will be key this season. General manager and executive vice president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo echoed those points.

So did chairman and CEO John Sherman.

“I feel a great deal of accountability to [the players],” Sherman said. “I want us to win for a lot of reasons. For our fans. The community, but our players have short careers, and if they can be part of a winning effort, their careers will be more satisfying. They’ll make more money. That’s what I tried to express.”

After the meeting, Sherman spoke to media for 20 minutes before he headed to the backfields to watch Bobby Witt Jr.’s infield work, Salvador Perez’s batting practice and pitchers’ fielding practice.

Here are three takeaways:

1. Offseason changes have been well-received

Sherman likes what he sees so far with the changes Picollo and the Royals made this offseason, from new personnel in place to the data-driven mindset adopted by the organization. When Sherman handed Picollo control of the baseball operations department in September, he was confident Picollo could handle the challenge. Five months later, that sentiment remains.

“I’m really excited about the way that J.J. has taken the reins,” Sherman said. “I think he’s really stepped up.”

Sherman praised Quatraro, whom the Royals hired away from the Rays, as well as former Tampa Bay bench coach Paul Hoover. And Sherman has been happy to hear the new ideas pitching coaches Brian Sweeney, a former Guardians bullpen coach, and Zach Bove, a former assistant pitching coordinator with the Twins, have brought to the staff so far.

“I think it’s important to cross-pollinate. Bring in the best practices from other organizations,” Sherman said. “And also build an organization where people want your people and be willing to let your people go. That doesn’t mean we want to be Cleveland or we want to be Tampa. We want to be the Kansas City Royals. But how do we take advantage of the best talent and develop our own brand?”

2. Success this season and in future years centered around Royals' youth

Sherman said it was fair to say the goal in 2023 is to lay the foundation for future years based around the young talent in the Majors. The Royals’ payroll is expected to be around $86 million this year, which is down from ’22. When asked what he wants to see this year to be aggressive with the payroll next season, Sherman said he wants to see the club progress.

Yes, that means more wins -- certainly more than the 65 victories in 2022.

“Progression toward being a contending team,” Sherman said. “We didn’t feel that way about ‘22. There are a lot of reasons for it, it’s not anybody’s fault, but as a team, the results showed that we actually regressed. Turning that around, seeing the progress where we feel like we’re going in the right direction where we’re positioned to fight our way back to the top of the division is the goal.”

It also means ensuring the Royals have the right core in place for a contending team.

“And do we have the nucleus?” Sherman said. “It seems to me that we have the makings on the position player side of the next championship-caliber lineup. We got work to do, it’s not [complete]. And it’s really about, can we develop the next pitching staff, both rotation and bullpen, that’s capable at competing at that level? I think seeing how we progress there will tell us more.”

3. Progress is slow but steady on downtown ballpark plans

There has been no public update on the Royals’ downtown ballpark plans since they held three community meetings this offseason, but Sherman said the work has continued. The organization does not have a location, but the list of four or five sites the club wants the ballpark and district to be “continues to get smaller,” Sherman said.

“I’m hopeful we’re not too far away from being able to be more specific there,” Sherman said. “We’re not hiding anything, it’s really just good business. We’re trying to not start a land rush somewhere around town for the wrong reason.”

After the community meetings, the organization has met with political leaders and smaller community groups to move forward with plans and garner support. If the Royals hope to have the issue on the ballot come August -- which would be the earliest voters could vote on the tax that would help pay for a new ballpark -- voters need more information. That includes the location, financing and infrastructure plans.

Several questions community members had at the public meetings this offseason didn’t have answers at the time.

“It’s time for us to get down some brass tacks and start making those specific asks and begin to negotiate,” Sherman said.