Kansas City Royals: Officially eliminated from postseason

Though it has been evident for a while that the Kansas City Royals were not going to be a factor in the race to make the postseason, as of yesterday, they are officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Fox Sports MLB tweeted Tuesday night that there are only 28 teams left in contention for the postseason. The Kansas City Royals are the second team that has officially been eliminated from postseason contention. The only team that was taken out of the race before the Royals was the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball fans have known for a while that the Kansas City Royals had no chance of making it to October. At 38-88, winning just over 30 percent of their games this season, there wasn’t much of a chance for them to make a run.

Which teams are likely to be eliminated next?

As the season winds down, the number of teams that join the list alongside the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles will grow. However, none of the other teams in last place in their divisions are quite as far back as the Orioles and the Royals.

As of today, Baltimore sits 50.5 games back from the AL East leading Boston Red Sox, and the Kansas City Royals are 35.5 back on the Cleveland Indians. As for the rest of the last in the division teams, the Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins, and San Diego Padres are all 21 games back off of the division lead, and the Cincinnati Reds are 16 back.

What makes the Royals tough season even more frustrating is the fact that their division wasn’t strong. The only team that is above .500 in the AL Central is the Cleveland Indians. The second place Minnesota Twins have a record of 60-65.

What that means is that the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers are also sure to join the list shortly.

In every other division, there are three teams that have a win percentage of .500 or above. With the Royals officially out of the postseason, the remainder of the season should be used to try and end on a good note, while also giving younger players opportunities to gain Major League experience.