Report: Clayton McCullough ‘Among Finalists’ for Royals' Manager Job
Managerial searches around Major League Baseball are beginning to heat up, and the Kansas City Royals' situation is no different. On Wednesday morning, more news was reported about what direction Kansas City could possibly be going in. Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough has completed an interview with the Royals and is "among the finalists there" to be the club's next manager:
Sources: Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough has interviewed with the Royals for their managerial vacancy and is among the finalists there.
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Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 8:17 a.m. CST
On Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that Kansas City's opening round of interviews had been finished. This included internal candidates Pedro Grifol, Vance Wilson and Scott Thorman, as well as external candidates Matt Quatraro (Tampa Bay Rays), Dusty Wathan (Philadelphia Phillies) and McCullough. Per Rogers' written report on MLB.com, the organization doesn't have a hard deadline for a decision but does have a general preferred end time in mind.
The Royals are not putting a timeline on their search, but they have indicated they would like to have a manager in place before free agency begins (five days after the World Series ends). That way, they can fill out the coaching staff, including hiring a new pitching coach, in November.
McCullough, who is 42 years old, has some ties to the Royals organization due to his father being a scout within the organization. He just wrapped up year two with the Dodgers, one of the premier franchises in all of baseball, and is a popular name among all potential managerial candidates.
McCullough interviewed a year ago with the New York Mets for their open manager job and has extensive experience as a manager in Minor League Baseball, working for the Toronto Blue Jays' Rookie and Class-A affiliates from 2007-2013. He led the Dunedin Blue Jays to a first-place finish back in 2011 and has a pair of second-place finishes on his resume as well.
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Jordan Foote is the editor-in-chief of Inside the Royals, as well as the deputy editor of Arrowhead Report and a producer for Kansas City Sports Network. Jordan is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media with a minor in Sports Administration. Follow him on Twitter @footenoted.