The Kansas City Royals picked up a crucial win on Sunday over the Detroit Tigers to improve to 67-64 on the year. They also kept pace in the American League Wild Card race, remaining three games back of the third and final spot, which is currently held by the Seattle Mariners. The Royals were busy at the trade deadline, choosing to buy rather than sell and make a push for the postseason after they were a Wild Card in 2024.
While they may be a longshot to reach the postseason, their hopes are not dead yet, and they still have a decent chance at nabbing the final Wild Card spot. They won 86 games last year and beat the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Series before falling short in the ALDS against the New York Yankees.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently made some postseason predictions. He predicted that Kansas City will miss the postseason despite playing much better baseball as of late.
“Kansas City certainly has been hot, 28-18 in its last 46 games. The Royals also have all of Cole Ragans, Jac Caglianone and Michael Massey working their way back from the IL, ideally providing actual wins above replacement in September after amounting to a combined minus-2.4 bWAR before their respective injuries. Could be a real postseason field game-changer if they’re all contributing down the stretch—especially in that potentially colossal series against the Mariners,” Miller wrote.
The Royals could be an interesting team to watch down the stretch. They have some crucial matchups with contenders and could potentially gain significant ground in the Wild Card race.
However, for now, Miller believes they will miss the postseason. The AL Central is not close. The Detroit Tigers have a 10 1/2-game lead over the Royals, so a division title is essentially out of the question, and it’s going to take a lot for Kansas City to actually make it back to the postseason in 2025.
The Mariners, and potentially other Wild Card contenders would have to go on a slide to open the door for the Royals to make a push. But it will still be interesting to see how things shake out down the stretch.
The Royals have hope, even if they aren’t favored to actually make it back to October.
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