KANSAS CITY -- The Royals and manager Matt Quatraro have agreed to a three-year contract extension, the club announced Sunday afternoon.
Quatraro is heading into the final season of his current contract, so the new extension begins in 2027 and runs through ‘29 with a club option for the ‘30 season. Extending Quatraro was always an expected part of the Royals’ offseason, although these deals typically get done closer to or in Spring Training. Instead, the Royals were able to get it done now.
In three seasons under Quatraro, the Royals have gone 224-262, with his total wins already ranking as the seventh most by a manager in franchise history. After going 56-106 during Quatraro’s first season in 2023, the Royals went 86-76 in ‘24 with a postseason appearance that led them to the American League Division Series -- a 30-win improvement that made the Royals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, just the third team ever to make the postseason after a 100-loss season. That earned Quatraro a runner-up finish in AL Manager of the Year voting.
In ‘25, the Royals did not make the playoffs, but they did finish above .500 again at 82-80. That marked the franchise’s first consecutive winning seasons since 2013-15. According to Elias, the Royals are just the eighth team in the Wild Card Era to have back-to-back winning seasons following a 100-loss season.
But the Royals, including Quatraro, were hardly satisfied with their finish in ‘25 and hope to get back to the postseason with a deeper run this coming season.
“I think it's an exciting team to be around,” Quatraro said in December. “These guys, they compete, they prepare. They're good to each other. It's an easy clubhouse. They have a very common goal and understanding of what our end goal is -- to win the World Series. They understand that. They know it's not going to be easy.
“Personally, I think one of the things focusing on for myself and the staff is to make sure that we know the players as well as we possibly can, that each guy is completely different and how we reach one guy may not be the same as the other. So knowing them at a deeper level … understanding what makes each person tick that much more, and hopefully it leads to more harmony [and] synergy to help us through the tough times and get over the humps.”
Quatraro and his coaching staff have implemented plenty of changes up and down the organization since he arrived in Kansas City, with a large emphasis on analytics. But Quatraro, with a steady personality that doesn’t often get too worked up, earns praise from players for the ways he leads the clubhouse.
The Royals value continuity in leadership, and team CEO/chairman John Sherman has publicly stated his trust in both general manager J.J. Picollo and Quatraro. Last spring, the Royals extended Picollo through the 2030 season with a club option for ‘31. Now, Quatraro is on a similar timeline as the club hopes to build on the vision that makes it a sustainable winner.