Royals reward ex-Braves exec Moore, Yost

Yost decided to sign on for two more years. That means the 61-year-old is committed to being in the Royals' dugout through at least the 2018 season.

"I'll have to get to the point in '18 when I'll have to evaluate it," Yost said. "But you work so hard as a group to develop a winner and it's hard to leave when they still have the ability to win. We think we have that opportunity through the next few years."

Most of the Royals' cornerstone players, including first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and shortstop Alcides Escobar, are signed through the 2017 season. The Royals also re-signed outfielder Alex Gordon to a four-year deal this past offseason.

Moore, who grew up a Royals fan, took over a downtrodden franchise in 2006 that hadn't had a winning season in a dozen years. The team's farm system was in shambles, fan apathy was at a nadir, and the only thing Kansas City had going for it was a ballpark considered one of the jewels of baseball.

Slowly, Moore began to rebuild the organization through the draft and with a newfound emphasis on international scouting. And over the years, he stockpiled homegrown players that have become the basis of three consecutive winning seasons and back-to-back trips to the World Series.

Kansas City won its first championship since 1985 when it beat the New York Mets last fall.

Last year, Yost passed Whitey Herzog to become the winningest manager in Royals history. He got his 900th career victory on Aug. 15 and could reach 1,000 at some point this season.