Ned Yost Entering Final Year Of Contract As Kansas City Royals Manager

He's been the steady veteran hand guiding a young Kansas City Royals team. Thus the expectations for Ned Yost haven't been so centered on the win-loss column as it would be for others. Terry Francona nearly goes to the playoffs (before tanking) and is fired. Yost places last in his division and should enjoy relatively good job security. So goes the disparity in Major League Baseball.

As Yost enters his contract year, the natural question is whether or not he will be re-upped by Dayton Moore and the KC front office. And while it's not officially a done deal, MLBTradeRumors.com's Mark Polishuk says that Yost should feel safe in his current position as long as he holds the fort down and continues developing players as they emerge at the ML level.

He writes, "Ned Yost is entering the last year of his contract and I would guess that he'll receive another. While the Royals don't expect any on-field success right now, the onus is on Yost to ensure that Kansas City's wealth of young prospects continue to develop. Yost will return as K.C.'s manager in 2013 unless the Royals heavily regress from their 71-91 record of last year, or (even worse) the likes of Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Danny Duffy hit a snag in their Major League seasoning."

Then again, the primary issue with the system and the major league team is pitching, especially of the starting variety. If the Royals make a splash to gain some top pitching prospects or veteran free agents, things will certainly change for Yost. The hitting is largely in place and should continue to get better with the development of the guys in-house. And the Royals should feel solid about their future.

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