Kansas City Royals may have manager of future in Mike Matheny

There has been a great deal of speculation as to who will succeed Ned Yost as the manager of the Kansas City Royals. His replacement may have been brought into the organization with the hiring of Mike Matheny into the front office.

Despite his successful run over the past decade, Ned Yost is not going to manage the Kansas City Royals forever. He is the winningest manager in Royals history, bringing the franchise to two World Series appearances and taking home the 2015 championship, but he is 64 years old. At some point, perhaps as soon as next year, he will ride off into the sunset, enjoying retirement and secure in his stature in Kansas City sports history.

This leads to the problem of finding his successor. At some point, the Royals will need to hand the reins over to a new manager, one that would be ready to step in and help guide the young team back to glory. They may have already set that plan into motion with their hiring of former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.

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Matheny had an, at times, successful tenure in St. Louis, although there were questions about the complexion of the clubhouse in the wake of his firing. He had an overall 591-474 record in St. Louis, making the postseason in each of his first four years and getting to the 2013 World Series. However, the reports of the rift between he and Dexter Fowler, as well as the reported issues between Jordan Hicks and Bud Norris, along with the perceived regression of the Cardinals, led to his ouster earlier this year.

In a way, there are a few parallels to Yost prior to joining the Royals. He was also the subject of a controversial firing, removed from the manager role by the Brewers as they were in danger of dropping out of the postseason in 2008. He was also hired in a similar role before stepping in as the Royals manager in 2010.

That is not to say that Matheny is a given to take over once Yost relinquishes his place on the bench. The Reds had hired John Farrell in a similar role, and passed him over for David Bell as their manager. However, Matheny reportedly wants to manage again, and with the Royals developing farm system, he could end up in the perfect spot.

The Kansas City Royals will eventually need to replace Ned Yost. They may have found their manager in waiting with their hiring of Mike Matheny.