Royals acclimating to new hitting coaches

ARLINGTON -- It's only been a couple days, but the Royals are already getting to know their new hitting coaches, George Brett and Pedro Grifol.

Brett, a Hall of Famer and holder of multiple Royals records, is with the team on an interim basis. The team's vice president of baseball operations before joining the coaching staff, Brett had always worked with Royals hitters in Spring Training and will now get the chance to work with them during the regular season.

"It's been a good first couple of days," first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "George is really smart when it comes to how aggressive to be and what your approach is going to be. The biggest thing he brings over is creating that approach for a hitter, knowing the situation and knowing the pitcher on the mound. He's really good when it comes to stuff like that."

Grifol spent 13 seasons in the Mariners organization, his last as a manager for Class A Advanced High Desert. Adam Moore, who spent the first six years of his career in the Mariners organization, has had plenty of previous experience with Grifol.

"He's an awesome guy," Moore said. "Very smart; understands the game as well as anyone I've been around. He's had a lot of job titles, from field coordinator to managing. You name it and he's done it. He knows a lot about the catching side of things, too, as well as hitting. Pedro's been around the game a long time."

The Royals have struggled offensively this season, hitting an American League-worst 29 home runs and slugging an AL-worst .372 while scoring 207 runs, the third-fewest in the AL. Former Royals hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David were reassigned Thursday.

"There's a reason why the other two guys got let go, because we haven't been performing the way we can perform," Hosmer said. "It's unfortunate, because they're guys I had worked with in the Minor Leagues for a while. I've been working with them ever since I was 18 years old."