KC Royals World Series champion finds new coaching position in Kansas City

The Kansas City Royals are chasing the highs from 2015 — as they should be. Every MLB team should be chasing the feeling of being the final team standing, hoisting a trophy, and adding a championship to their franchise's legacy. Banners fly forever, and the same applies to the personnel who achieved said banner. The Royals' championship links are scattered throughout baseball. and now one returns to Kansas City.

The American Association of Professional Baseball's Kansas City Monarchs announced Monday that former Royals utility man Christian Colón joined the Monarchs as their hitting coordinator and third-base coach. This is the second time Colón has been part of the Monarchs organization, previously signing a player contract in 2021. He never played a game with the team, as the Toronto Blue Jays signed him to a minor-league deal later that year.

Christian Colón is back in the area, just not with the KC Royals

Colón never lived up to the lofty expectations after the Royals drafted him fourth overall in 2010. Still, the Puerto Rican was involved with two historic runs for the team, after making his MLB debut on July 1, 2014. First, he scored the winning run in the electric 2014 AL Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics after an RBI single of his own tied the game earlier that inning. Then, in his first plate appearance of the 2015 postseason, he knocked an RBI single to score Jarrod Dyson in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series. That proved to be the deciding run in the series' final game.

Colón last played for the Royals in 2017, totaling 125 games across four seasons. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins after Kansas City designated Colón for assignment, primarily playing on minor-league contracts. The California State University Fullerton product formally retired from baseball in December 2021.

In January 2022, Colón returned to the Royals organization in a coaching role for the first time. He served as the assistant hitting coach for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He also spent time as the team's bench coach before the Seattle Mariners gave Colón a promotion in 2024. He joined the organization managing their Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, but he didn't finish the season in the role, replaced by hitting coach Mike Fransoso in August 2024.

The Monarchs have plenty of MLB experience on their coaching staff, and Colón's return to Kansas City doesn't mark the end of his MLB aspirations.

“We’re honored and excited to have a guy like Christian Colón join our organization,” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “He’s a guy who wants to come back to Kansas City and be a part of this organization. We hope this opportunity will be beneficial for both him and our team as he works to become a manager in the major leagues.”