Kansas City Royals Become 2nd Team to Get Eliminated From Playoff Contention
In what was always going to be a race for second place behind the lowly Oakland Athletics, the Kansas City Royals have officially become the next team to be eliminated from postseason contention.
A 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night made it mathematically impossible for the Royals to storm back and snag either the AL Central crown or an AL Wild Card spot before the end of the year. At 41-93, the Royals boast the second-worst record in baseball, only behind the Athletics, who were eliminated back on Aug. 25.
There are still 28 games remaining on the Royals' schedule.
On top of their poor season overall, Kansas City is a league-worst 1-9 in its last 10 games. The Royals are 5-18 since opening August on a four-game winning streak, which is worse than any other team in that span.
That stretch has coincided with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s breakout on the national stage, but the 23-year-old's gaudy numbers haven't been enough to get Kansas City over the hump.
Going by FanGraphs' latest projections, there are a few other teams effectively out of the running for a playoff spot in 2023. The Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies are all being given a 0.0% chance to make the postseason, while the San Diego Padres are down to 0.9%, the Detroit Tigers are down to 0.2%, and the New York Yankees and New York Mets are both down to 0.1%.
The Rockies and White Sox have the third and fourth-worst records in the league, and even they are 9.0 and 12.0 games ahead of the Royals in the standings, respectively. It will likely be a week or so before the next team gets mathematically eliminated.
The Royals will try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pirates on Wednesday, with the finale scheduled to get underway at 8:10 p.m. ET.
Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media
Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
