The Kansas City Royals announced a flurry of moves, both on the field and in the front office, on Tuesday, with veteran center fielder Michael A. Taylor signing a two-year contract extension, with long-time executives Lonnie Goldberg and Danny Ontiveros receiving promotions.
President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore announced that Goldberg will move up the Royals Vice President of Player Personnel, with Ontiveros becoming the franchise’s scouting director.
Goldberg is in this 14th season with Kansas City, starting with a three-year stint as Director of Baseball Operations from 2007 to 2009. He spent six years in the early to mid 2000s with the Atlanta Braves as a scout and supervisor before his move to the Midwest.
Ontiveros is in his 15th season with the Royals, serving the last five years as Assistant Director of Scouting.
Taylor, acquired as a free agent last winter after playing the first seven years of his big league career with the Washington Nationals, has hit 12 home runs and stolen 14 bases with Kansas City in the 2021, having played in 137 games coming into the final five games of the campaign. He leads the majors with 21 defensive runs saved, and leads all center fielders with a career-high 11 outfield assists, most by a Royal since Melky Cabrera’s 13 from 2011.
