KC Royals: 3 key second half questions and answers

The KC Royals answered a lot of questions during the first half of their 2023 season. No, they won't make the playoffs. Yes, they're a bad ballclub. No, Zack Greinke won't be stellar in what may be his last season. Yes, more than ever before they'll probably consider dealing closer Scott Barlow at the trade deadline. And yes, these Royals have a lot of work to do, and many moves to make, before they can even think about contending.

And big questions, which sometimes seem to surround this team and franchise more than any other, remain as Kansas City opens post-All-Star Break play, what is traditionally considered the second half of major league baseball's season, when they host Tampa Bay tonight at 7:10 p.m. CDT. KC Rookie Alec Marsh is scheduled to face the Rays' Tyler Glasnow.

Let's take a look at three of those questions.

Can the KC Royals somehow manage to avoid losing 100 games this season?

Theoretically, yes, but only because losing fewer than 100 times is still mathematically possible. The real answer, though, the one nobody can seriously dispute, is no.

The season's second half begins with the Royals buried in last place in the American League Central. They're 26-65, which means they'll finish the campaign with no more than 99 losses only if they go 37-34 the rest of the way. That's a tall order for a struggling team that hasn't won more than two games in a row all year.

It just isn't going to happen.