MLB Rumors: Kansas City Royals to name Dale Sveum hitting coach?
By Bryan Rose
In a shocking, though not exactly surprising move, the Kansas City Royals are expected to name Dale Sveum hitting coach in the near future.
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That’s the word from Andy McCullough who states Sveum ran batting practice for the Royals on Thursday and will take over the role moving forward.
As for Pedro Grifol, the Royals hitting coach coming into Thursday afternoon? Well, that future remains a little cloudy. We haven’t seen an official announcement from the Royals regarding the promotion of Sveum nor have we seen any news regarding Grifol.
Speculation has many believing that Grifol has been fired, though it’s completely possible that he’ll be retained by the organization and simply work in a different capacity. What does appear to be clear however is that he’s no longer the hitting coach, at least according to reports.
The Royals were swept by the lowly Houston Astros over the past three days and Kansas City’s bats looked anemic in the process, something that has haunted the franchise in recent years despite significant offensive talent.
As for Sveum, he is a former manager of the Chicago Cubs though was fired last September. He was hired by the Royals this past offseason and had been serving as an infield instructor and third base coach prior to his assumed promotion.