Baseball is a ruthlessly honest sport. The flukiest performers are humbled quickly, and the arms race of 100th-percentile athletes and innovative pitch design leaves little room for error.
The game tells its players when it has passed them by, and team executives aren’t far behind.
On Monday, the Kansas City Royals rudely welcomed outfielder Mark Canha back from the 10-day injured list by designating him for assignment.
Underwater and out of time
The Royals have struggled to build upon their feisty 2024 campaign, hovering around .500 while watching playoff odds slip away. The underwhelming performance was epitomized by a revolving door of outfielders, almost all of whom have posted below-average offensive seasons.
Canha’s ineffectiveness made a spot on this post-deadline roster hard to justify. Slashing .212/.272/.265, Canha is sporting a 48 wRC+ across 125 injury-interrupted plate appearances. He has just a single home run to his name and six RBIs.
The biggest culprit has been a power outage. His 90th-percentile exit velocity (100.9 mph) and max exit velocity (105.5 mph) are among the worst rates of his career, made worse by an approach and batted-ball distribution that suggests he was selling out for pull-side power — perhaps a last-ditch effort to tap into a waning skill set. Between injuries and inconsistencies, it wasn’t enough to produce.
As such, it seems unlikely that he’s claimed off waivers. He could be released or sent to Triple-A, should he accept the latter, but his production, recent injury history, and age (36) make him a suboptimal reinforcement.
Subsequently, Canha may have played his last MLB game. If he has, the sport will say its farewell to a fan-favorite who has become known for his off-field love of finding the best food in big-league cities.
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The veteran runs an Instagram account, @bigleaguefoodie, where he documents his culinary endeavors. On Monday, he posted a picture with top prospect Jac Caglianone at The Sorcerer’s Cone, a Harry Potter-themed ice cream truck in Omaha.
Canha achieved his 10th year of service time this season, an accomplishment that fewer than 10% of players achieve. Canha has logged 121 home runs and 14.8 fWAR in his respectable decade-long career, which included stops with the (then) Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants before his stint in Kansas City.
A Bay Area icon but beloved around the game, it’s worth taking the time to reflect on Canha’s career before it officially ends.
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