Kansas City Royals Fire President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore

Despite being the general manager in charge of the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, Dayton Moore is out of a job.

Royals owner John Sherman announced the news during a Wednesday news conference, the first of what could be many changes for an organization now in its sixth-consecutive losing season.

The Royals have undoubtedly been one of baseball's least successful franchises since their short-lived run from 2014-2015, when they reached the ALCS and the World Series in back-to-back years.

Moore had led the baseball side of the team since 2006, serving as general manager through 2021, before being promoted to President of Baseball Operations entering 2022.

In classic sports team fashion, Moore was fired in the same year he was promoted.

The Kansas City Royals have fired general manager Dayton Moore (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Why Did The Kansas City Royals Make The Move NOW?

That said, what's confusing is that Moore was fired during the season, ostensibly for poor performance, when there was no reason to expect the team to be good this year.

What exactly changed from when he was promoted earlier this year to being fired in September?

The Royals came into the year with one of the league's ten best farm systems, according to The Athletic. With continued development, the organization appeared headed for brighter days.

If anything, the major league success of young players like Bobby Witt Jr. should be an encouraging sign, although apparently not enough to save Moore's job.

He spoke to The Athletic after the announcement, saying he has "confidence" in the rest of his staff to "finish" the work he started.

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity. I’m proud of our culture and what we accomplished in Kansas City. I’m disappointed we weren’t able to see it through," Moore said. "But I have confidence in John Sherman, J.J. Picollo and the entire baseball operations department to finish it off.”

Generally, new hires want to bring in their own people, so the baseball operations department could be in for substantial turnover in the coming months.

He had inherited a moribund franchise with little to no success after the 1980's, helping turn it into a reputable competitor.

Now, Moore says he'll be pursuing other opportunities in baseball, while the Royals pursue a new GM to try and recapture their mid-2010's success.