Heyman | Dayton Moore wants Yost back next season

Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost is a lame duck whose team currently has the worst record in the American League.

But Royals GM Dayton Moore doesn’t hesitate when asked if the plan is to bring Yost back: Yes, he does indeed want Yost back for a 10th season in Kansas City next year.

Yost is 63, and with his contract ending and the Royals entering a rebuilding phase (and no word about an extension), it has been assumed by some that the Royals could be in the market for a new manager after the year. But those folks underestimated Yost’s exalted standing within the Royals organization.

He is, after all, the he man who skippered the Royals to two straight World Series appearances and their first championship since 1985. Royals GM Dayton Moore made clear in an interview earlier this week with FanRag Sports that he wants Yost to continue in his role beyond this year.

“We definitely want him back,” Moore said.

Moore said he has yet to have that conversation with Yost, but presumes that the manager of the Royals’ two recent World Series teams, including the 2015 champion, would like to continue his career in Kansas City. Yost, who became Royals manager in May 2010, signed a two-year extension in February of 2016 that takes him through this season.

“I like working with him,” said Moore. “I love our coaching staff. You can definitely tell something about people when they go through difficult times. And that is also a reflection on the manager.”

So the decision about whether Yost will be returning appears to be up to Yost himself. He had a near-death experience while hunting over the winter, and that kind of thing can change a person, but to this point Yost hasn’t suggested any change in his interest in continuing to manage the team.

Yost became an unlikely hero in Kansas City, which has enjoyed tremendous stability in recent years (save for a couple surprise coaching moves last winter). Yost was a hire Moore knew from their days together with the Braves, and while writers don’t get him, it’s hard to argue with his record.

He was a surprise casualty in Milwaukee when he was fired near the end of the 2008 season with the team on the cusp of the playoffs (Dale Sveum, who’s now a Royals coach under Yost, guided Milwaukee into the postseason after taking over). And he’s been just as big a surprise as a success in K.C.

Asked if he thinks Yost wants to return, Moore, while mentioning they have yet to have that conversation, said, “I think so.”