Royals announce front office moves as longtime executive Dean Taylor retires

Dean Taylor, the Royals’ vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager, has retired and the team has restructured its front office.

Taylor joined the Royals in 2006 and had spent 39 years in the major leagues. He’ll continue to serve as a consultant to baseball operations.

“His knowledge of the game, its history and the intricacies of the administrative aspects of our sport made him an invaluable part of our success,” said Dayton Moore, Royals general manager and senior vice president.

Among the restructuring moves:

▪ J.J. Picollo has been elevated to vice president and assistant general manager for player personnel.

▪ Rene Francisco to vice president and assistant general manager for major-league and international operations.

▪ Scott Sharp to assistant general manager for baseball operations

▪ Jin Wong to assistant general manager for baseball administration

▪ Chino Cadahia to senior coordinator for player development

▪ Kyle Vena to director of baseball administration

▪ Ronnie Richardson to director of minor-league operations

▪ Mike Groopman to director of baseball operations for analytics

▪ John Williams to director of baseball analytics for player personnel

▪ Daniel Mack to director of baseball analytics for research science

▪ Chris Getz to baseball operations assistant for player development

▪ Phillip Stringer to baseball operations assistant

▪ Nick Relic to minor-league video coordinator

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Royals announce front office moves as longtime executive Dean Taylor retires."