SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Kansas City Royals extended executive vice president and general manager J.J. Picollo’s contract through 2030 with a club option for the following year.
The club also exercised its 2026 option for manager Matt Quatraro, who was the runner-up for American League Manager of the Year last season.
“J.J. is one of the top executives in baseball, and I am proud that he’s leading our pursuit of a championship,” Royals owner John Sherman said in a statement Monday. “His ability to lead and connect with people, his intellectual curiosity, and his innovative methods of combining the best of traditional scouting and player development with advanced sciences and technologies are driving us toward that ultimate goal.”
The Royals promoted Picollo, now in his 19th year with the team, to GM in 2021 and added the executive VP title a year later.
He spent more than $110 million in free agency after the 2023 season and agreed to a club-record contract extension with Bobby Witt Jr. that pays $288.7 million over 11 years. There is a three-year option that would bring the total to $377 million.
After those moves, the Royals went 87-76 last season and made the playoffs, just the third team to ever appear in the postseason a year after losing at least 100 games. Kansas City also became just the sixth team since the schedule expanded to 162 games in 1961 to make a 30-victory improvement.
“Leading the Royals’ baseball operations is an honor that I take seriously every day,” said Picollo, who was second in the voting for Executive of the Year.
“[Quatraro] helps push us in so many ways, particularly with collaboration between departments and constantly seeking new answers, so I’m thrilled that he will be with us into the future.”