Royals hire Hall of Famer George Brett as hitting coach, reassign Jack Maloof and Andre David to minors

Hall of Famer and Royals legend, George Brett, has been named hitting coach for Kansas City. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Royals have hired George Brett as the team's interim hitting coach and reassigned previous hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David to the minor leagues, reports CBS Sports.

Brett, 60, hit .305/.369/.487 during his 21-year career in the majors. He was an All-Star 13 times, won three batting titles and an MVP. He spent the entirety of his career with Kansas City, and the team has not had a single playoff berth since he retired in 1993.

The Royals' offensive production has lacked power this season, and the team ranks 29th in the majors in home runs (28 total in 50 games) and 14th in the AL in slugging percentage.

General manager Dayton Moore made a statement thanking Maloof and David, and commented on the decision to demote them. From the CBS Sports report:

"Obviously things have not gone as we would have expected and in light of the downturn in offensive production and poor results we've decided to make a change," said Moore. "First of all, I can't thank Jack and Andre enough for accepting this challenge with the Major League club. They are both tremendously knowledgeable and hard working men who have already made our organization stronger by their work in the system. I'm thankful that this organization has one of the greatest hitters and more importantly one of the greatest competitors our game has ever seen in George Brett and he has accepted our offer to join the coaching staff on an interim basis."