Kansas City Royals fans ecstatic with team moving on from Ryan O'Hearn: "Christmas came late, but it's everything I wanted!" "So happy I could cry"

The Kansas City Royals are moving on from first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn. The team has a week to find a trade partner or pass him through waivers.

The Royals signed pitcher Jordan Lyles to a two-year, $17 million deal. To make room on the roster, they had to DFA O'Hearn. This comes just weeks after the team signed O'Hearn to a $1.4 million contract for 2023 to avoid arbitration.

In 67 games last season with the Royals, he hit .239/.290/.321 with just one home run. He's never surpassed 15 home runs in his short five-year career. His career high sits at 14.

Royals fans couldn't be happier to hear that the team DFA'd O'Hearn. He struggled mightily during his time in Kansas City. Fans were getting tired of his mediocre play.

Their excitement mirrors that of a fanbase that just signed a player. It seems that Ryan O'Hearn stayed way past his welcome.

Other fans can't get over the fact that the team just DFA'd somebody they signed to a guaranteed contract a little over a month ago. It doesn't make sense to them.

The Kansas City Royals have an opportunity to take the division

The Kansas City Royals will have a new manager for the 2023 season. They hired Matt Quatraro to be the team's 21st manager in franchise history. He has coaching experience, both with the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays.

He started as a catching instructor with the Rays and transitioned to the team's minor league hitting coach. Quatraro would go on to be hired by the Guardians for the same role. He made his way back to the Rays to serve as their third base coach. The following year, they promoted him to bench coach.

Not only does Quatraro have experience managing a club, he has experience in the American League Central, a division that has been predominantly up for grabs for anybody who wants it.

The Kansas City Royals could shock some teams going into next season. They have a bunch of young talent that is ready to contribute at the big league level. If they can get quality seasons from some of their prospects, they could run away with this division and surprise everyone in the AL Central.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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