Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino had a career year in 2025, proving himself as an every-day player and staying healthy across a full campaign for the first time in his MLB career. The Old Dominion product is notably vocal on social media, primarily tweeting about his beloved New York Jets, but he took time to respond to some rumors involving a Royals coach.
Last week, MLB Network's Jon Morosi brought up, seemingly unprompted, the fact that Royals' third base coach Vance Wilson would "receive consideration" for an MLB managerial role with so many openings needing to be filled this coming offseason.
His resume not considered, Pasquantino brought up some traits of Wilson that only a peer or player would be intimately familiar with.
"Vance is the definition of a leader," Pasquantion said via X. "Would have an entire clubhouse ready to go every night."
"Almost no one see the game like him," he said.
Vance is the definition of a leader. Would have an entire clubhouse ready to go every single night!!! Almost no one sees the game like him. https://t.co/nWccEuzZDc
— Vinnie Pasquantino (@VPasquantino) October 2, 2025
The Royals may say adieu to Vance Wilson sooner rather than later in the managerial carousel.
Royals fans have rightfully had their gripes with Wilson over the years, but Pasquantino's endorsement here speaks louder than any criticism.
From this perspective, Wilson does make sense as a managerial candidate in the near future. There is a fact to consider: being on a team with back-to-back winning seasons raises his stock incrementally.
However, Wilson has decades of experience and nearly two decades of coaching experience. He led the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals to consecutive Texas League North Division titles back in 2015-216, a highlight of his seven seasons managing in Kansas City's farm system.
Wilson joined the big league coaching staff in 2018, spending two seasons as the bullpen coach before moving to third base coach and currently serving as the MLB team's fielding coordinator.
Wilson had an extensive playing career, spanning 16 seasons as a catcher, including eight in the MLB. The Arizona native was a member of the Detroit Tigers from 2005-2006, helping the AL Central rival win the American League pennant in 2006.
Wilson owns a career line of .250/.302/.377, with 25 home runs and 129 RBI across 403 career MLB games. He concluded his professional career with the Naturals as a player, a step towards coaching that many players take as their careers come to a close.
Wilson takes a ton of inspiration from Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland, a man he played for in Detroit. It would be a massive step for Wilson, but a team may see his resume and hear his process on managing a team and give him the keys to the game-level decisions.
Either way, Pasquantino certainly believes in Wilson taking the reins for a team sooner rather than later.