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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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The game tells its players when it has passed them by, and team executives aren’t far behind.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Kansas City Royals rudely welcomed outfielder Mark Canha back from the 10-day injured list by designating him for assignment.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Padres starting pitcher under fire after Dodgers sweep series<\/a><\/p>\n