Kansas City, Mo. ? Royals manager Trey Hillman, who always bristled when anyone suggested his lack of experience as either a major-league coach or player might be a drawback, has added a wealth of big-league background to his Kansas City staff.

The Royals on Monday hired John Gibbons, former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, as Hillman’s new bench coach and former Royal Kevin Seitzer as hitting coach.

Gibbons was fired by the Blue Jays in June. He managed Toronto for parts of five seasons.

“I’m very pleased with the amount of energy and overall baseball experience we’ve been able to add to our major-league staff with John Gibbons and Kevin Seitzer,” said general manager Dayton Moore.

“John’s recent American League experience as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays will be a tremendous asset to Trey and the rest of the coaching staff,” Moore said.