KANSAS CITY -- After a full day of meeting with the media upon being introduced as the next Royals manager, Mike Matheny spent Halloween night calling as many players as he could just to chat.

That made an impression on several of them, some of whom already have received solid reports about Matheny from Cardinals who played under him.

Royals super utility man Whit Merrifield, upon hearing that Matheny was in the running for the job, talked to former Royal and Cardinal Jon Jay about Matheny. The review was positive.

“Jon was someone I got close to here and I respect his opinion,” Merrifield told MLB.com by phone. “He talked about what a good baseball man Mike is and what a good guy he is and that he’ll be good to play for. He basically said we were going to like him. I talked to other Cardinals as well and got the same feedback.

“That being said, I look forward to meeting Mike myself and working with him. I think it’s going to be a good fit for all of us.”

Several Royals met Matheny, who joined the organization toward the end of 2018 as a special advisor under general manager Dayton Moore, last Spring Training in informal settings, including left-hander Danny Duffy, who was one of the players to receive a call from Matheny on Thursday night.

“I really look forward to working with him,” Duffy said by phone. “The things I’ve heard about him are good, that he sticks up for his players.

“And the bottom line is if Dayton is for him, we’re for him. Dayton isn’t going to bring anyone in that isn’t the right guy. I have faith in that.”

Veteran right-hander Ian Kennedy did a little research on Matheny as well, talking to longtime Cards starter Adam Wainwright about him.

“I’m good friends with Adam, and he said he loved him,” Kennedy said. “I had met Mike down at Spring Training and got to know him a little bit, and Adam’s thoughts about him lined up exactly with mine. He seems like a really good guy as a person. I know he was a fiery person as a player, and I wonder if he’ll be like that as a manager.

“But it was good to get to know him at Spring Training. He didn’t really have any assignment down there, so we could just talk and it was informal. That’s a good way to get to know someone.”

Kennedy has been through a few managerial changes in his career, including going from Joe Torre to Joe Girardi with the Yankees, and AJ Hinch to Kirk Gibson with the D-backs.

“It’s a little more awkward in midseason,” Kennedy said, “so I don’t think this will be anything like that. This will be smoother because you’ll know what to expect after a full Spring Training with him.”