The Royals will get one more shot in October before losing Cain, Hosmer and Moustakas

Through the end of May, Kansas City was an AL-worst 22-30, seemingly heading toward a deadline diaspora given the pending free agencies of longtime stars Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas as well as newly-minted All-Star pitcher Jason Vargas. Since then, the Royals have the league's second-best record behind only the Astros (23-16), and they're just two games out of the second wild card spot. Because approximately one billion Kansans and Missourians will take umbrage on social media otherwise, I am predicting that Ned Yost's plucky band of blue-clad baseballers will shore up their bullpen, convince Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar to hit again, and charge into the playoffs via a wild card berth.

It will be a fitting conclusion for the group that returned Kansas City to respectability and brought that city a World Series title in 2015, but it won't do anything to stop that aforementioned triumvirate of position players from heading for greener pastures in free agency.