Royals dismiss hitting coach, shuffle staff

The Kansas City Royals announced changes to their coaching staff on Monday, parting ways with hitting coach Terry Bradshaw.

Senior director of player development Alex Zumwalt will now join the big-league staff as a hitting coach. Both Keoni DeRenne and Mike Tosar will resume their roles as assistant hitting coach and special assignment hitting coach, respectively.

The Royals are currently 12-20, sitting in fourth place in the AL Central with the worst run differential in the Junior Circuit.

As a team, Kansas City is hitting .224/.289/.336 with an 85 wRC+, which ranks third-worst in the AL ahead of the dead last Oakland Athletics (77) and division-rival Detroit Tigers (83).

Perhaps most emblematic of the team's failures at the plate is the fact Whit Merrifield has been struggling. The two-time All-Star set a franchise record in 2019 with a 31-game hit streak but is now hitting .183 over his first 32 games this year.

By wRC+, Adalberto Mondesi, Kyle Isbel, Ryan O'Hearn, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Santana, Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, and Salvador Perez are all hitting below league average.