The Royals came into 2026 carrying real noise around them, and not the good kind of noise that fades once the games start. After the 2024 run that ended in an ALDS appearance, Kansas City made it clear the standard had changed. A playoff-or-bust mindset took hold, and after last season’s 82-80 finish still ended without a postseason berth, the bar only got higher.
That’s what made the preseason chatter so bold. Jim Bowden of The Athletic went as far as picking the Royals to win the American League Central and reach the playoffs.
FanGraphs was bullish too, slotting Kansas City second in the division and giving the club a 44.8% shot at October baseball. For a team that had already pushed expectations upward, those projections only added fuel.
Instead, the season has gone sideways.
Kansas City is 58-74 and sitting 11 games back in the AL Central, with injuries and inconsistency shaping just about everything that has gone wrong. The injury list has been a major problem, and it keeps growing.
Cole Ragans, Jonathan India, Luinder Avila and Stephen Kolek are among the players whose seasons have been cut short. Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have also spent time on the injured list.
The offense has not been able to carry the load when the lineup has been whole, either. The Royals have scored the ninth-fewest runs in baseball, and that lack of production has left too much pressure on a pitching staff that has already been stretched thin.
The biggest collapse has come in the bullpen. Kansas City’s relief group owns the second-worst ERA in baseball at 5.21, according to FanGraphs, and the late innings have turned into a weekly problem.
Carlos Estévez, who led MLB in saves last season, has barely been a factor. He recorded just one out while allowing six earned runs in his first appearance, capped by a walk-off grand slam.
A left foot contusion followed, and then a right rotator cuff strain during a rehab appearance, keeping him out for nearly the entire year.
Matt Strahm, another offseason addition Kansas City expected to count on, didn’t last. He was designated for assignment after posting a 7.32 ERA across 35 2/3 innings. Lucas Erceg has had his own rough stretch, too, with six blown saves and a 6.23 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A Omaha.
Just how damaging has that bullpen been? Jared Koller put it bluntly on X:
“Crazy but true. If the #Royals won just A THIRD of the games that they lost in the 8th inning or later this year, they’d currently own a playoff spot.
If they just held on to all their 9th inning leads, they’d have a playoff spot. A bad bullpen made that big of a difference.”
There has at least been a spark lately. The Royals are riding an eight-game winning streak, and the offense has come alive during it, scoring 50 runs over that stretch. It hasn’t erased the larger picture, but it has offered a reminder of what this team can look like when the bats are rolling.
Even with that run, the offseason blueprint is obvious. Kansas City needs to fix the bullpen.
The lineup has shown it can produce when healthy, and the last eight games have backed that up. But the relief corps has dragged the team all season, and that’s the part the Royals can’t afford to ignore.
In Other News...
Bobby Witt Jr. Has One Big MVP Problem Royals Fans Know Too Well
Bobby Witt Jr. has done just about everything a franchise star is supposed to do this season. He has stayed in the thick of the American Leagues defensive metrics while also providing the kind of steady offense that keeps the Royals relevant night after night, a combination that has only strengthened his case as one of the leagues most complete players.
The problem is that MVP races rarely live on merit alone, and Witt Jr. is running into the same obstacle Royals fans have seen before. Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero are both in the mix, and the voting history around this award still leans hard toward players on winning teams, which means Witt Jr. may need more than a strong individual year to break through. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Are Getting Contributions From Everywhere During This Red-Hot Run
Kansas City keeps finding new ways to collect wins during this surge, and the latest one came with a little bit of everything. Michael Wacha set the tone with seven steady innings, limiting the damage and giving the bullpen a lead to protect, while the lineup supplied its usual mix of power and opportunism. Salvador Perez added another homer to his total, and even the basepaths got a jolt when he swiped his first bag in five years.
The late innings brought more of the same depth the Royals have been leaning on lately. Craig Kimbrel closed it out for his first save in Kansas City, a reminder that the clubs run has not been built on one carry-the-load performance or one familiar name alone. Even the organizations future got a moment in the spotlight, as 2026 first-round pick Zion Rose connected for his first professional home run, another small sign that the Royals' good news has been piling up at every level. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Win Streak Has Fans Dreaming Despite One Brutal Reality
Eight straight wins have turned late summer at Kauffman Stadium into something far more interesting than a routine finish. The Royals have suddenly pulled themselves back into the conversation, trimming ground in the American League Wild Card race and giving their fans a reason to look past the standings they spent most of the year staring at with frustration.
The problem is the climb remains steep, and the margin for error is still razor thin with a month left. FanGraphs still gives Kansas City a 0% shot at the postseason, a reminder of how much ground has to be made up while the club also navigates a difficult closing stretch without all of its pieces at full strength. [Read more 🡒]