This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.
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16. Kansas City Royals (46-67, last in AL Central, 27th in MLB, -109 run differential). Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong, and the Royals were never going to be deep enough to survive that. Cole Ragans made eight lousy starts. Kris Bubic made nine decent starts. Maikel Garcia hasn’t played since June. Vinnie Pasquantino went backwards at 28. The bullpen has three nominal closers with ERAs above 6.00. Oh, and their planned downtown ballpark is running into local resistance from people who object to giving $600 million to John Sherman.
The fountains are still pretty.
I just don’t know how many more bites at the apple you can give JJ Piccolo, who is living off a single 86-76 playoff team two years ago. He made some small trades at the deadline, but because he didn’t spend a lot on veteran talent over the winter, he didn’t have much to trade in the summer. He chose to hold Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, an indication that he thinks the Royals can climb back into contention in 2027. They play in the AL Central, so it’s not a crazy idea, but this is a team that needs at least one or two good players; not Lane Thomas and Starling Marte, but a couple of four-win players who can elevate the team’s floor. I think I’d start over with a new management team.
One Stat: The Royals have a 7.41 ERA in the ninth inning. That is the second-highest mark in history behind the 1930 Phillies.
Reason to Watch: Bobby Witt Jr. came off the IL over the weekend, and while he’s starting to feel like Barbecue Mike Trout, he remains a joy to watch do everything on a diamond.
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You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $79.95
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