Fresh off their first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, the Kansas City Royals have high expectations for themselves as pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, Ariz. for Spring Training.

The first workouts are set for Wednesday, Feb. 12 as the Royals prepare to build on last year’s turnaround campaign that saw them go from just 56 wins in 2023 to an appearance in the AL Divisional Series last October. To build on those high expectations, the Royals announced Tuesday the hiring of Ned Yost, skipper of the 2015 World Series champions, as a senior adviser to general manager JJ Picollo. Yost is the winningest manager in Royals history, guiding the Royals to 746 wins in nine seasons with the franchise, including an MLB-best 22-9 postseason record following the team’s 2014 and 2015 World Series appearances.

The first full-squad workout will take place Monday, with the first spring training game set for Feb. 21 against Texas. The regular season begins March 27 when the defending AL Central champs Cleveland come to Kauffman Stadium.

Meanwhile, pitchers and catchers had their first official workout Tuesday at the St Louis Cardinals’ spring training in Jupiter, Fla. Their full team workouts begin Monday, with the Cardinals’ first spring training game set for Feb. 22 against Miami and the regular season beginning March 27 at Busch Stadium against Minnesota.