Kansas City, Mo. ? Asking a manager to win games while rebuilding with young players was “the toughest job in baseball,” Kansas City general manager Allard Baird said Thursday.

But Baird discounted suggestions he would have trouble “convincing” someone to take over for Tony Pena, who resigned Tuesday night with the worst record and one of the youngest teams in the major leagues.

“Believe me, with the number of phone calls I’ve gotten from guys the last 24 hours, I’m not sure it’s a whole lot of convincing,” he said. “It’s a matter of them understanding the direction of the club and understanding what they have on this ballclub coming up.”

With their victory Thursday night, the Royals’ record improved to 9-26. The roster is full of young players, some of whom probably would benefit from more seasoning in the minor leagues. But the Royals particularly are encouraged by a stable of young pitchers who could develop into top-tier performers.

“This is not an easy task for a manager,” Baird said. “This is a manager that’s coming in here that has to believe in the direction of the club, has to believe that they’re getting this club at the early phase of a rebuilding mode.”

The only potential candidate Baird admitted he would interview was Bob Schaefer, Pena’s bench coach who has been named interim manager. Baird did confirm that experience as a major-league manager would be a high priority. That’s also a quality few managers have had in the team’s history.

“That’s not an absolute to acquiring this job, but it is something I’m looking for,” he said.

More than anything, the manager will be someone who “buys into” the long-term commitment to youth.

“That’s important to keep in mind, for our fans, for our organization, for everybody. This is a work in progress. This is still the very early stage of this.

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“With the young pitchers we have, with some positional players and adding some pieces as we go, along with a couple of guys in the minor leagues who aren’t that far away, I have to have the perfect guy.”

Baird said he was in no hurry.

“If we don’t find the right guy, then we’ll wait until the end of the season. I do not anticipate that happening.”

The new manager will take over a club with a payroll of $36.9 million, second-lowest in the major leagues. But Baird said he had been given permission by owner David Glass to spend more money, so long as he spends it wisely.

“Our payroll right now has a lot of room in it and it will have more room next season,” he said. “And they’re committed to make it work and allow us to win ballgames with talented players if they’re available.

“This year, if I wanted to go out there and spend the money on a guy for one year or two years that we felt made sense to fit in this club, I think the money would have been there.”