<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-randy-arozarena-career-milestone-hr-vs-royals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Randy Arozarena hits career milestone with HR vs. Royals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Randy-Arozarena.jpg"></figure><h1>Randy Arozarena hits career milestone with HR vs. Royals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T20:58:14-07:00">June 30th, 8:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T21:15:28-07:00">June 30th, 9:15pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When the Seattle Mariners hit a milestone home run in 2025, thoughts immediately turn to Cal Raleigh. The Gold Glove catcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-cal-raleigh-adds-mlb-home-run-record-32nd-blast">leads the majors with 32 homers</a> this season. But in Monday’s matchup against the Kansas City Royals, Randy Arozarena grabbed the spotlight.</p><p>The All-Star outfielder <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1939876136651301200" rel="noopener">left the yard</a> in the fourth inning, hitting his 100th career home run, per MLB.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">100 career home runs for Randy Arozarena 💪 <a href="https://t.co/MSfgKFToZH">pic.twitter.com/MSfgKFToZH</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1939876136651301200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Arozarena jumped on the first pitch of the at-bat, blasting a Michael Wacha cutter 395 feet to right center. It was his ninth homer of the season and the 100th of his seven-year career.</p><p>But Arozarena wasn’t done yet. He added to his impressive career total the following inning, crushing a 94 mph four-seamer 401 feet to center. The three-run bomb gave the Mariners a 5-1 lead over Kansas City.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Randy Arozarena, again … His second of the game, after crushing career No. 100 earlier tonight.</p><p>Exit velo: 106.0 mph<br>Launch angle: 25°<br>Distance: 401 ft.<br>Hang time: 4.9 seconds <a href="https://t.co/OLcJLw0uU3">pic.twitter.com/OLcJLw0uU3</a></p><p>— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DKramer_/status/1939881678841028622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Randy Arozarena reaches 100 home runs in multi-homer game for Mariners</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Randy-Arozarena-2.jpg"><figcaption>Steven Bisig-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Seattle <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-seattle-trades-for-rays-star-randy-arozarena-in-bombshell-move">acquired Arozarena in a trade</a> with the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline last season. The team had hoped the addition would spark the Mariners’ struggling offense and help with a second-half playoff push. That didn’t materialize as Seattle missed the postseason for the second straight year.</p><p>Arozarena hasn’t put up eye-popping stats with the Mariners. But with his two-homer game, he’s now on pace for his fourth consecutive 20/20 season as he’s up to 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 2025. He entered Monday’s contest slashing .244/.358/.416 with a 122 OPS+ and 2.7 bWAR in 81 games.</p><p>While Arozarena has contributed solid stats, the Mariners’ offense in 2025 revolves around their switch-hitting catcher. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-cal-raleigh-drops-humble-admission-after-joining-legendary-list">Raleigh joined elite company</a> with his power surge in the first half of the season. He leads the majors in home runs and RBI while adding Gold Glove-caliber defense behind the plate.</p><p>However, Seattle’s pitching has been a disappointment this year. While the rotation was the team’s biggest strength in 2024, several key starters have dealt with injuries this season.</p><p>The Mariners did get a strong outing from George Kirby on Monday. He allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts over six innings of work. The fourth-year veteran was an All-Star and Cy Young candidate in his breakout 2023 campaign and turned in another strong performance last year. But <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-seattle-major-george-kirby-injury-update">Kirby began the 2025 season on the injured list</a> with shoulder inflammation and didn’t make his debut until May 22.</p><p>The Mariners have gone 10-6 over the last 16 games heading into the series opener against the Royals. However, the Houston Astros have once again taken control of the AL West, building a 6.5 game lead over Seattle in the division.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Randy Arozarena hits career milestone with HR vs. Royals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-freddie-freeman-seals-win-royals-web-gem');   ga('set', 'title', 'Freddie Freeman seals win over Royals with web gem at 1st base');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Freddie-Freeman_06d174.jpg"></figure><h1>Freddie Freeman seals win over Royals with web gem at 1st base</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T22:03:33-07:00">June 27th, 10:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T22:12:55-07:00">June 27th, 10:12pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Dodgers relied on their trio of MVP winners to edge out the Kansas City Royals Friday. Reigning NL MVP <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-makes-royals-pay-leadoff-hr">Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a home run</a> – his league-high 29th bomb of the season. Ohtani later tied the game with a fifth inning RBI triple before scoring the go-ahead run on a base hit by 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts.</p><p>The score remained 5-4 when the Royals threatened in the bottom of the ninth inning. But the Dodgers <a href="https://x.com/Dodgers/status/1938796421043429534?t=ays-RrnhKGvZ50420Vd8uQ&amp;s=19" rel="noopener">got out of a jam</a> thanks to a spectacular defensive play by 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"FREDDIE FREEMAN SAVES THE DAY!" <a href="https://t.co/GTcoxckdG7">pic.twitter.com/GTcoxckdG7</a></p><p>— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1938796421043429534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>LA reliever Tanner Scott was facing rookie right fielder Jac Caglianone with the bases loaded and one out. Caglianone swung at the first pitch he saw, slapping a grounder to second baseman Tommy Edman. Edman flipped the ball to Betts, who stepped on second and fired over to first base where Freeman made an incredible pick on the short hop to complete the game-ending double play.</p><h2><b>Dodgers’ MVPs lead LA to victory</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Freddie-Freeman-2.jpg"><figcaption>Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Freeman has cooled off at the plate this month as he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-freddie-freeman-dishes-truth-quad-injury-concern">deals with a quad injury</a>. After an incredible May, during which he slashed .410/.462/.638 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI, he’s down to .182/.258/.227 with no homers and 4 RBI in 23 June games.</p><p>However, he’s still batting .305 on the season with an .867 OPS. And Freeman is one of the Dodgers’ most important veteran leaders, who always seems to come through in the clutch, evidenced by his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-freddie-freeman-reaction-world-series-mvp-award">MVP-winning World Series performance</a>.</p><p>Non-former MVP Max Muncy continued his offensive onslaught in the series opener against the Royals. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-max-muncy-hot-streak-alive-4th-hr-4-days">Muncy hit his fourth home run in four games</a> Friday. The Dodgers third baseman has 15 RBI during his four-game power binge.</p><p>With the victory over Kansas City, the Dodgers extended their winning streak to five straight games. LA has gone 11-2 since the San Francisco Giants moved into a first-place tie in the NL West on June 13. The Dodgers are now 21 games over .500 and have a 6.5 game lead in the division.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Freddie Freeman seals win over Royals with web gem at 1st base

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-max-muncy-hot-streak-alive-4th-hr-4-days');   ga('set', 'title', 'Max Muncy keeps hot streak alive with 4th HR in 4 days');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Max-Muncy_913ec6.jpg"></figure><h1>Max Muncy keeps hot streak alive with 4th HR in 4 days</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T19:12:42-07:00">June 27th, 7:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T19:27:58-07:00">June 27th, 7:27pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Dodgers kept their winning streak going against the Colorado Rockies. Los Angeles swept Colorado, outscoring the team 20-9 in the three-game series. And, despite the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup, Max Muncy stole the spotlight with his recent offensive eruption. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-max-muncy-dazzles-2nd-grand-slam-3-games">Muncy hit his second grand slam in three games</a> on Wednesday, driving in 6 runs. In LA’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals, the veteran third baseman was <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1938759312991756745" rel="noopener">at it again</a>.</p><p>Muncy hit a home run in his first at-bat against the Royals Friday, going deep for the fourth time in his last four games, per MLB.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Max Muncy clubs his 4th homer in his last 4 games! <a href="https://t.co/pdHW22Rx7o">pic.twitter.com/pdHW22Rx7o</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1938759312991756745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Batting in the second inning, Muncy worked the count in his favor before hammering a 3-1 four-seamer from Royals starter Noah Cameron to deep center. The 424-foot bomb is Muncy’s 13th on the season and his fourth in four contests. He now has 15 RBI in that span as well, bringing his season total to 53.</p><h2><b>Max Muncy continues crazy power surge for Dodgers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Max-Muncy-3.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-max-muncy-replicates-bonkers-mlb-feat-last-done-in-1951">Muncy’s offensive production has come in bunches</a> this season. But he’s been fantastic in June. The two-time All-Star entered Friday’s matchup slashing a scorching .328/.459/.642 in 22 games this month. After his second inning fireworks against the Royals, he has 7 home runs, 22 RBI and 20 runs scored in June.</p><p>That production would put him on a 162-game pace for 45 homers, 150 RBI and 142 runs scored. And the Dodgers have Muncy batting eighth in the lineup on Friday – a testament to the ridiculous collection of talent in LA.</p><p>And speaking of ridiculous talent, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-makes-royals-pay-leadoff-hr">Shohei Ohtani started off the game with a leadoff home run</a>. Ohtani passed Aaron Judge with his National League-leading 29th dinger of the season. He also hit his seventh triple of the year, picked up two more RBI and scored two runs. And it’s only the sixth inning.</p><p>The Dodgers entered the Royals series having won 10 of their last 12 games and four straight. The hot streak allowed LA to retake control of the NL West after the San Francisco Giants tied the Dodgers for first place on June 13. Los Angeles now has a six game lead in the division.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Max Muncy keeps hot streak alive with 4th HR in 4 days

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-rumors-trade-offer-kris-bubic');   ga('set', 'title', 'The trade offer that could make Royals ‘consider’ dealing Kris Bubic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Kris-Bubic.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff -Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>The trade offer that could make Royals ‘consider’ dealing Kris Bubic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T10:12:39-07:00">June 27th, 10:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T10:12:39-07:00">June 27th, 10:12am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals have much to consider regarding pitcher Kris Bubic. In addition to other <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/3-royals-who-must-be-on-trade-block-ahead-of-2025-deadline">Royals pitchers on the trading block</a>, Bubic could join them before the July 31st deadline.</p><p>MLB Network insider Jon Morosi hints that the Royals <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1938306980205969412" rel="noopener">could take a chance</a> and give up Bubic if they could get some offense out of it. Even though he doesn’t foresee Bubic getting traded.</p><p>“I don’t believe Bubic is getting traded, he said.” But I will say this, the Royals have lost four in a row. Their pitching overall is quite good. Bubic, importantly, is under control for one more year at a very reasonable number.”</p><p>However, he had his little caveat.</p><p>“If the Royals could get 2 impactful young bats, I think this is something they’d at least have to consider,” Morosi said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"If the Royals could get 2 impactful young bats, I think this is something they'd at least have to consider."</p><p>– <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jonmorosi</a> on if Kansas City would be open to trading Kris Bubic ahead of the Deadline <a href="https://t.co/zrO3Be04jX">pic.twitter.com/zrO3Be04jX</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1938306980205969412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bubic is in a unique situation. On the one hand, he’s have a solid season with a 6-5 record, 2.18 ERA, and 96 strikeouts. On the other hand, Bubic is under a one year contract with the Royals set to expire at the end of the season.</p><p>In addition, he’s eligible for arbitration in 2026 and can be a free agent in 2027.</p><p>As a result, the Royals don’t have total control over him and could trade him. Meanwhile the Royals are 38-43, fourth place in the American League Central Division.</p><p>They are also in the midst of a four game losing streak. On Friday, they take on the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a three game series.</p><h2><b>Who could the Royals get for Kris Bubic?</b></h2><p>Aside from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-maikel-garcia-vinnie-pasquantino-homers-white-sox">dynamic duo of Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino</a>, the Royals offense have struggled as of late.</p><p>Even though they bring the power, others are not stepping up. In addition, the Royals are having difficulty consistently getting on base.</p><p>Their on-base percentage is .298, ranked 26th in the MLB. In terms of offensive weapons, Kansas City could <a href="https://royalsreporter.com/2025/06/12/four-hitters-who-could-be-interesting-trade-targets-for-the-royals/" rel="noopener">look at</a> a few notable players if they trade Bubic.</p><p>Among them include JJ Bleday, Mike Tauchman, Mickey Moniak, or Jesus Sanchez, per the Royals Reporter.</p><p>Each of whom have shown stints of consistency and power at the plate.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The trade offer that could make Royals ‘consider’ dealing Kris Bubic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-all-star-retirement-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'Former Royals All-Star explains recent retirement decision');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Whit-Merrifield-with-the-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Former Royals All-Star explains recent retirement decision</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T07:47:08-07:00">June 27th, 7:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T07:53:45-07:00">June 27th, 7:53am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After nine seasons, former Kansas City Royals infielder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-news-whit-merrifield-retires-nine-seasons">Whit Merrifield announced his retirement</a> on Tuesday.</p><p>Two days later, Merrifield <a href="https://x.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1938380881489547712" rel="noopener">made clear his reasoning</a> behind his decision, per the Foul Territory podcast.</p><p>Merrifield stated that his production on the field, combined with his desire to be with his family, influenced his decision.</p><p>“I really have known that retirement was gonna be in the cards since playing last year, “he said. “It wasn’t the same for me. My wife and I’s first child was born in March during right in the middle of spring training last year. Just playing the year, I kind of wrote in my little spiel I was asked to put out. I’m not good enough to show up and play and there had to be a lot that went into it for me to be successful.”</p><p>In addition, Merrifield said the game was moving beyond him, but he is more than content.</p><p>“The game is trending in a way that’s going away from players like myself, which is fine, games evolve, and the way games are played and viewed evolve,” Merrifeld said. “That evolution, unfortunately, wasn’t good for me, but it’s good for the game, I think. So I’m happy to be on this side now and don’t have to worry about a scouting report; all I got to worry about is who we’re talking to and what I’m talking to you guys about. I don’t have to worry about sliders or two steams or splitters or anything like that.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hear from the man himself on why he decided to hang 'em up after nine seasons in The Show. <a href="https://t.co/IzhNSBrDI0">pic.twitter.com/IzhNSBrDI0</a></p><p>— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1938380881489547712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Whit Merrifield’s time with the Royals </b></h2><p>Merrifield played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves. While with the Phillies, he had a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-retiring-whit-merrifield-hilarious-take-philly-tenure">admittedly underperforming time</a>.</p><p>He played for the Royals from 2016-2022. While there, Merrifield played second base and became a fan favorite.</p><p>He made two out of his three All-Star appearances with the Royals (2019, 2021).</p><p>Consequently, he set a record for playing 553 consecutive games from June 2018 to July 2022. In addition, Merrifield became the 14th player in franchise history to achieve 1,000 hits.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Former Royals All-Star explains recent retirement decision

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-retiring-whit-merrifield-hilarious-take-philly-tenure');   ga('set', 'title', 'Retiring Whit Merrifield drops hilarious take on Phillies tenure');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Whit-Merrifield-as-a-member-of-the-Phillies.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Retiring Whit Merrifield drops hilarious take on Phillies tenure</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T15:37:59-07:00">June 24th, 3:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T15:37:59-07:00">June 24th, 3:37pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Three-time All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-news-whit-merrifield-retires-nine-seasons">Whit Merrifield announced his retirement</a> on Tuesday, and on his way out the door, he took time to thank Philadelphia Phillies fans in the most hilarious way possible.</p><p>Merrifield played for the Phillies in 2024, hitting just .199 with a .572 OPS <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-make-whit-merrifield-roster-decision">before the team released him</a> and he caught on with the Atlanta Braves.</p><p>“Philly, I liked you way more than you liked me,” he wrote in his goodbye post on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTEI7iypHX/" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>. “Sorry I stunk for you.”</p><p>Merrifield was slightly better for Atlanta, where he hit .248 with a pedestrian .648 OPS. He became a free agent at the end of last season and did not sign with a team over the winter.</p><p>“Since I’ve not had some time away from the game, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my individual career for the first time in my life,” Merrifield wrote. “I’m proud of myself. The toughness I developed and the things I was able to accomplish, nobody outside of my camp thought possible. I spent a lot of energy proving people wrong but my real joy came from proving my small circle of believers right.”</p><h2><b>Ex Phillies OF Whit Merrifield made his name with the Royals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Whit-Merrifield-with-the-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Merrifield’s time in the National League East didn’t go so well, he was one of the best hitters in the American League from 2017 to 2021. He <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/ex-royals-all-star-blasts-jac-caglianone-roster-move-criticism">came up with the Kansas City Royals</a> and led the AL in hits in 2018 and 2019. He also led the league in stolen bases in 2017, 2018 and 2021.</p><p>Two of Merrifield’s three All-Star nods came as a member of the Royals and he finished his time in the City of Fountains seventh in franchise history in steals (174) with a .286 average in that time.</p><p>The Royals then traded Merrifield to the Toronto Blue Jays midway through the 2022 season where he was a member of two Blue Jays playoff teams.</p><p>“I was so privileged and blessed to have played in the cities I played in,” Merrifield wrote. “KC, you became a second home to my family and I. Toronto, playing for an entire country was an honour I’ll never forget.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Retiring Whit Merrifield drops hilarious take on Phillies tenure

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-al-central-rival-praise-jose-ramirez');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bobby Witt Jr. gives AL Central rival eye-opening praise');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Bobby-Witt-Jr-and-Jose-Ramirez.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bobby Witt Jr. gives AL Central rival eye-opening praise</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T09:45:37-07:00">June 24th, 9:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T09:45:37-07:00">June 24th, 9:45am</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Reigning American League <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-fix-mlb">batting champion Bobby Witt Jr.</a> is well aware that his Kansas City Royals are chasing the Cleveland Guardians, both in the AL Central and in the Wild Card race. That didn’t stop him from giving credit where it’s due.</p><p>When reporter Chris Henderson asked him the ideal infield he would like to play with — and Witt himself excluded his own teammates from the discussion — Jose Ramirez was the <a href="https://x.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1937532700757492027" rel="noopener">first name he mentioned</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bobby Witt Jr. names the ideal infield he’d like to play with, no teammates allowed</p><p>C: Cal Raleigh<br>1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<br>2B: Brendan Donovan<br>3B: Jose Ramirez</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/See_Hendo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@See_Hendo</a>) <a href="https://t.co/TbuRYZRfkl">pic.twitter.com/TbuRYZRfkl</a></p><p>— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1937532700757492027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I like the way Jose Ramirez plays the game,” Witt said. “Hate we’re always playing against him but he plays the game the right way, plays hard. He’s an All-Star but he’s a little underrated All-Star.”</p><p>Ramirez, now in his 13th season in the Majors, all with Cleveland, has long had the reputation of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-jose-ramirez-mlb-era-history-incredible-2025-season">underrated superstar</a>. He has twice led the league in doubles and hit for an OPS of .900 or better three times. The six-time All-Star has also won five Silver Sluggers. He still hasn’t captured that elusive MVP award, but has finished in the top three in voting three times.</p><p>So far this season, he is hitting .323 with a .910 OPS and 13 home runs.</p><h2><b>Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. goes around the infield</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Mariners-catcher-Cal-Raleigh.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With Witt manning shortstop in his ideal infield and Ramirez at third base, he went on to name the rest of his fantasy team. Cal Raleigh, the Seattle Mariners catcher who is on pace to break Aaron Judge’s American League home run record, got the nod behind the plate.</p><p>“He plays the game the right way, he plays hard, I love the guy,” Witt said.</p><p>Through 77 games, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-news-cal-raleigh-adds-mlb-home-run-record-32nd-blast">Raleigh has hit 32 home runs</a>, putting him on pace for 67 long balls, well ahead of pace compared to Judge’s 62.</p><p>At first base, Witt went with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is pacing toward his fifth consecutive All-Star selection. He agreed to a 14-year extension with the Jays in April, keeping him off the free agent market, likely for the rest of his career.</p><p>Finally at second, Witt chose another rival — this time from across the state. He chose Brendan Donovan, the St. Louis Cardinals infielder who is having the best year of his career so far. In 71 games the 28-year-old is hitting .307 with an .812 OPS and a strikeout rate of only 13.6%.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bobby Witt Jr. gives AL Central rival eye-opening praise

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/3-royals-who-must-be-on-trade-block-ahead-of-2025-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', '3 Royals who must be on trade block ahead of 2025 deadline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/X-Royals-who-must-be-on-trade-block-ahead-of-2025-deadline.jpg"></figure><h1>3 Royals who must be on trade block ahead of 2025 deadline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T08:50:52-07:00">June 23rd, 8:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T08:51:27-07:00">June 23rd, 8:51am</time><address><a>Garrett Kerman</a>Garrett Kerman also goes by the name of The Fight Analyst. He covers all combat sports, from MMA, to boxing, to even bare-knuckle. He is also very well-versed in all American sports when it comes to news and betting analysis. Whether you want betting advice or some breaking news, Garrett is your guy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A .500 record in late June has the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-all-star-concerning-injury-update">Kansas City Royals</a> reconsidering their approach to the 2025 trade deadline. After a breakout 2024 and high expectations for this season, the Royals’ offense has sputtered, and their outfield production ranks among the league’s worst. With a crowded roster and a farm system flush with catching prospects, Kansas City must weigh the value of moving established big-leaguers to address glaring needs and keep their postseason hopes alive. Here are three Royals on the active roster who must be on the trade block ahead of the 2025 deadline.</p><h2>Seth Lugo</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/seth-lugo-mark-canha-and-kyle-isbel.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Seth Lugo has been a workhorse for the Royals’ rotation, providing innings and stability amid a season of offensive inconsistency. At 35, Lugo remains effective, but his value to a contender in need of starting pitching could outweigh his importance to a Royals team hovering around .500. With Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, and Michael Lorenzen also in the rotation, the Royals have enough depth to withstand Lugo’s departure, especially if they receive a major-league-ready bat or high-upside prospect in return.</p><p>Lugo’s contract is manageable, and his ability to pitch deep into games makes him an attractive target for teams seeking rotation reinforcements for a playoff push. For Kansas City, trading Lugo could be the key to landing the middle-of-the-order power bat they desperately need, as their offense ranks near the bottom of the league in home runs and wRC+. Lugo’s postseason experience and steady performance would command a strong return, giving the Royals a chance to address their most urgent weaknesses without fully sacrificing their competitive aspirations.</p><h2>Mark Canha</h2><p>Mark Canha was signed to provide veteran stability and a right-handed bat for the Royals’ outfield, but his impact has been modest. Now 36, Canha’s contract is affordable, and his track record as a disciplined hitter with occasional power still holds appeal for contenders seeking outfield depth and leadership. With Jac Caglianone’s emergence and the club’s commitment to giving younger players more opportunities, Canha’s role has diminished, making him a logical trade candidate.</p><p>Moving Canha would allow Kansas City to clear a roster spot for a younger, more dynamic outfielder while recouping value from a player whose skill set is coveted by playoff-bound teams. His ability to play both corner outfield spots, get on base, and provide a professional at-bat makes him a fit for clubs with injury issues or a need for veteran presence in the clubhouse. The Royals could target a controllable reliever or a prospect with upside, helping to shore up their own bullpen or add organizational depth. Trading Canha now, while he’s healthy and productive, maximizes the return and aligns with the club’s long-term vision.</p><h2>Kyle Isbel</h2><p>Kyle Isbel’s elite defense in center field has been a bright spot for the Royals, but his offensive production has failed to develop as hoped. At 28, Isbel is entering his prime and remains affordable, making him a prime candidate for teams looking for a glove-first outfielder with some offensive upside. With Drew Waters and John Rave also vying for outfield time and the Royals actively seeking a corner outfield upgrade, Isbel’s future in Kansas City is uncertain.</p><p>Trading Isbel would allow the Royals to pivot toward a more offense-oriented outfield while capitalizing on his value as a defensive specialist. His speed, range, and ability to play all three outfield spots make him a fit for contenders needing late-inning defense or a platoon option. The Royals could look to package Isbel in a deal for a power-hitting corner outfielder or as part of a larger trade to bring in multiple pieces. Moving Isbel now, while his defensive metrics are strong and his contract is team-friendly, could help Kansas City address their offensive woes and balance their roster for the stretch run.</p><p>With the 2025 trade deadline looming, the Royals must be proactive in reshaping their roster to address glaring weaknesses and position themselves for sustained success. Mark Canha, Seth Lugo, and Kyle Isbel are three active roster players whose value on the open market could help Kansas City acquire the impact bat or pitching depth they desperately need. By making tough decisions and leveraging their assets, the Royals can remain competitive this season while building a stronger foundation for the future.</p><p>By acting decisively at the deadline, the Royals can send a clear message to their clubhouse and fanbase that they are committed to both short-term competitiveness and long-term growth. Whether these moves lead to an immediate playoff push or set the stage for future contention, the 2025 deadline will be pivotal in shaping the next era of Royals baseball.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 Royals who must be on trade block ahead of 2025 deadline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-fernando-tatis-smashes-107-9-mph-bomb-royals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Fernando Tatis Jr. smashes crucial 107.9 MPH bomb vs. Royals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Fernando-Tatis.jpg"></figure><h1>Fernando Tatis Jr. smashes crucial 107.9 MPH bomb vs. Royals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-21T20:48:56-07:00">June 21st, 8:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-21T21:05:02-07:00">June 21st, 9:05pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite capping off a wild four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-3 win Friday, the San Diego Padres left LA feeling bitter. Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was plunked by the Dodgers for the third time this season. And although the two-time All-Star’s X-rays were negative, teammate <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-manny-machado-sends-warning-after-fernando-tatis-jr-injury">Manny Machado warned the Dodgers “better pray”</a> his imaging results are clean.</p><p>Apparently Tatis isn’t feeling any ill effects from the beaning as he remained in the Padres lineup for the series opener against the Kansas City Royals Friday. And in Game 2 he <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1936596455902376118" rel="noopener">blasted</a> a three-run homer that left his bat at a blistering 107.9 mph, per MLB on X.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Turned on and DEMOLISHED!</p><p>Fernando Tatis Jr. belts this 3-run homer 107.9 MPH 😮‍💨 <a href="https://t.co/2WtPjPcBtA">pic.twitter.com/2WtPjPcBtA</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1936596455902376118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Stepping in against Royals reliever Taylor Clarke with two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Tatis turned on a 95 mph sinker, belting it 380 feet to left center. The three-run shot gave the Padres some breathing room, extending San Diego’s lead to 5-1.</p><h2><b>Padres’ star Fernando Tatis Jr. busts out of slump with 3-run bomb</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Fernando-Tatis2.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Tatis entered Saturday’s matchup in a bit of a slump. He had gone just 2-17 over his last five games and hadn’t had an extra-base hit since June 15. Tatis last homered on May 27 against the Miami Marlins – a 22-game drought.</p><p>But the sixth-year veteran busted out of his slump against Kansas City, leading the Padres to a much-needed win. Tatis now has 14 home runs, 34 RBI and 56 runs scored on the season. He’s hitting .268 with an .818 OPS and 3.3 bWAR in 74 games.</p><p>Despite the 5-1 win over the Royals, the Padres have lost seven of the last 10 games, including three of four contests to the Dodgers. San Diego is now 5.5 games back in the NL West.</p><p>The latest chapter in the Padres’ heated rivalry with the Dodgers added to the animosity between the divisional foes. With San Diego up 5-0 in the series finale, Tatis got hit by a 93 mph four-seamer that ran in on his hands. Tempers flared as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-fernando-tatis-jr-shohei-ohtani-pelted-managers-go-at-it-padres-dodgers-clash">Mike Shildt and Dave Roberts went at it</a>, leading to the benches clearing.</p><p>Order was restored but the drama didn’t end there. San Diego retaliated in the bottom of the ninth, plunking Shohei Ohtani with a 99 mph fastball that caught him flush on the thigh.</p><p>The two teams don’t play each other again until the second half of the season when the Dodgers host the Padres for a three-game clash beginning August 15. It’s safe to assume players on both squads have that date circled on their calendars.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Fernando Tatis Jr. smashes crucial 107.9 MPH bomb vs. Royals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-fix-mlb');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bobby Witt Jr. ‘finds’ fix that will terrify MLB');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26492782-scaled-1.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bobby Witt Jr. ‘finds’ fix that will terrify MLB</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-20T08:39:13-07:00">June 20th, 8:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-20T08:39:13-07:00">June 20th, 8:39am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals have endured recent struggles, including a five-game losing streak. Infielder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-honest-message-getting-shut-out-athletics">Bobby Witt Jr. was blunt</a> after a June 14 loss to the Athletics.</p><p>“We have to figure something out, he said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “We have to change something. So the time was now.”</p><p>Nevertheless, Witt is having a fairly decent season. He’s batting .285 with 83 hits, nine home runs, and 39 RBIs, along with an OPS of .830.</p><p>Good numbers, but pale in comparison to the numbers he put up last year.</p><p>In 2024, Witt batted .332 with 211 hits, 32 home runs, and 109 RBIs as well as an OPS of .977. He was in the hunt for the American League MVP before it was given to Aaron Judge.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/ranking-50-best-mlb-players-2025-season">Witt was named one of the 50 best MLB players</a> entering this season.</p><p>He entered Thursday’s game against the Texas Rangers 28% above the league average in OPS. Also, the Royals are ranked 29th in runs per game, just above the Pittsburgh Pirates.</p><p>However, Witt <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6439197/2025/06/20/mlb-trade-deadline-mets-white-sox-royals/" rel="noopener">is improving</a> thanks to a few techniques, per Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.</p><p>According to a team official, Witt’s been working with his hitting coaches as well as biomechanical experts to improve his hitting. Moreover, he’s made a crucial adjustment to hit the ball better.</p><p>Over the last four games, Witt is 7-for-15 at the plate, a batting average of .467. He’s added a home run and three doubles in the process.</p><p>On Thursday, he went 2 for 3, including a walk, as the Royals defeated the Rangers 4-1.</p><p>The Royals are 37-38 and are in 4th place in the American League Central Division.</p><h2><b>The value of Bobby Witt Jr. to the Royals</b></h2><p>Witt is<a href="https://motorcyclesports.net/bobby-witt-jr-reshapes-royals-strategy/"> considered to be</a> the face of the Royals. In February 2024, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/grading-bobby-witt-jr-massive-288-8-million-royals-extension">Witt signed a massive $288 million contract extension</a> with the franchise for 11 years.</p><p>He’s a consistent hitter who can hit for average and power. In addition, Witt is ubiquitous on the base paths.</p><p>In the field, he can play shortstop and third base and won a Gold Glove Award in 2024.  The hope for the Royals is to build the team around him for the future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bobby Witt Jr. ‘finds’ fix that will terrify MLB

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-all-star-concerning-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Royals’ All-Star dealt concerning injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Cole-Ragans.jpg"><figcaption> Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Royals’ All-Star dealt concerning injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-19T21:07:10-07:00">June 19th, 9:07pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-19T21:07:10-07:00">June 19th, 9:07pm</time><address><a>Guillermo Guajardo</a>Guillermo Guajardo is a dynamic sports presenter with experience on various television channels and digital platforms, most recently with A Tiempo.TV. He is also a multidisciplinary artist with 10 years of experience in acting, directing, writing, and hosting. His work in film has been recognized at international festivals, earning awards for both his performances and directorial projects.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-crucial-cole-ragans-roster-move">out of action</a> for at least another three weeks after being diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder. The 27-year-old left-hander has been shut down from throwing and is expected to be re-evaluated in early July, according to the team.</p><p>Ragans first felt discomfort after his June 5 outing against the Cardinals, which was his first appearance following a previous stint on the injured list for a left groin strain. On June 11, the Royals officially placed him back on the IL, retroactive to June 8. A recent <a href="https://x.com/anne__rogers/status/1935463044638728652" rel="noopener">second medical opinion</a> confirmed the initial diagnosis: no surgery or injection is needed, just some good old-fashioned rest.</p><p>Even though he’s understandably frustrated about being sidelined again, Ragans is trying to stay positive and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-cole-ragans-shut-down-until-july-due-to-shoulder-injury" rel="noopener">focus on his recovery.</a> “It gives you little things to look forward to through it,” Ragans shared with MLB.com. “It still sucks. I want to be out there… but you can’t rush something like this.” The Royals are taking a cautious approach, aiming for his return sometime after the All-Star break.</p><p>Manager Matt Quatraro highlighted the silver lining in the situation. “No surgery. No injection. Just rest,” he said, reassuring that Ragans’ long-term outlook is still bright. In the meantime, the Royals will lean on a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-kansas-city-pitching-staff-dealt-concerning-injury">mix of pitchers,</a> including rookie Noah Cameron, veteran Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha, to keep the rotation steady.</p><p>This marks Ragans’ second trip to the IL in 2025, interrupting a season where he<a href="https://www.kctv5.com/2025/06/19/royals-ragans-will-be-shut-down-4-weeks-with-mild-rotator-cuff-strain/" rel="noopener"> has a 2-3 record</a> with a 5.18 ERA over 10 starts. Last year, he wrapped up the season with a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts across 31 games, earning his first All-Star nod and finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting. The Royals are hopeful he can return to that impressive form once he’s back on the mound.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Royals’ All-Star dealt concerning injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-what-jac-caglianone-said-hitting-first-career-home-run');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Royals’ Jac Caglianone said after hitting first career home run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Royals-rookie-Jac-Caglianone-homers-in-Rangers-Globe-Life-Field.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>What Royals’ Jac Caglianone said after hitting first career home run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-19T16:42:40-07:00">June 19th, 4:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-19T16:43:41-07:00">June 19th, 4:43pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals (37-38) are finally gaining some solace in what has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-honest-message-getting-shut-out-athletics">a miserable June overall</a>. They won consecutive games for the first time in almost a month on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the ballclub watched its top prospect reach a much-anticipated milestone. Rookie Jac Caglianone hit his first two MLB home runs in a 4-1 win versus the Texas Rangers, helping KC earn a desperately-needed series sweep in Globe Life Field.</p><p>The first dinger was particularly noteworthy, beyond the obvious reason. Caglianone went yard off left-handed pitcher Jacob Latz in the second inning, connecting on a fastball that was way above the strike zone and launching it 387 feet. He then tacked on a late insurance run in the ninth, belting a 439-foot homer.</p><p>Michael Wacha (allowed only one run on two hits in six innings pitched) and the bullpen did not require much run support, but the entire clubhouse was surely elated to see the young slugger emerge versus the Rangers.</p><p>Caglianone did <a href="https://x.com/_abigaiiiil/status/1935818123615035422" rel="noopener">not initially know how high</a> he actually swung to launch his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-watch-jac-caglianone-1st-career-home-run">first big-league blast</a>, surprising himself and everyone who watched the striking display of power. “I didn’t realize until I looked on video how far up I got {Lutz},” the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft told reporters after the victory, per Abby Jones of DLLS Sports.</p><p>The 22-year-old should take a nice, long exhale after his monster afternoon. “It’s something I tried not to think about, but as the days kind of kept climbing, I was conscious of it more and more. I just got a nice little relief right there.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jac Caglianone speaks on his first (and second) home run of his MLB career. </p><p>“I didn’t realize how far up I got [Jacob Latz]” <a href="https://t.co/0jM5taEOas">pic.twitter.com/0jM5taEOas</a></p><p>— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) <a href="https://twitter.com/_abigaiiiil/status/1935818123615035422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Can Jac Caglianone, Royals build on this productive outing?</b></h2><p>This is  a potentially crucial outing for both Jac Caglianone and the Royals. The player needed a confidence boost after batting just .196 with a .235 slugging percentage and 12 strikeouts in his first 52 plate appearances. Kansas City is starving for consistent offense, and outside of Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and the surging Vinnie Pasquantino, who hit a two-run homer on Thursday, the lineup is scuffling.</p><p>While it is unfair to place such a big burden on a rookie’s shoulders, Caglianone could be a huge difference-maker if he continues to produce out of the batter’s box. The Royals do not want their rising talent to feel that level of pressure, though. They are hoping he just stays focused and composed after this possible breakthrough in Arlington.</p><p>KC finishes its road trip with an upcoming three-game set against the San Diego Padres (39-34), eager to get back to .500 after dropping six straight last week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Royals’ Jac Caglianone said after hitting first career home run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-watch-jac-caglianone-1st-career-home-run');   ga('set', 'title', 'Watch Royals’ Jac Caglianone crush 1st career MLB home run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kansas-City-Royals-outfielder-Jac-Caglianone.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Watch Royals’ Jac Caglianone crush 1st career MLB home run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-19T12:24:43-07:00">June 19th, 12:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-19T12:24:43-07:00">June 19th, 12:24pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals picked Jac Caglianone with the sixth pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. Since bringing him into their organization, the outfielder has shown out at every level. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-kansas-city-to-call-up-top-prospect-after-tigers-series">Caglianone was finally called up on June 3</a> and has not looked back. He hit another milestone against Jacob Latz and the Texas Rangers on Wednesday’s game, notching his first MLB home run.</p><p>After Vinnie Pasquantino hit a two-run shot in the first inning to give the Royals a lead, Caglianone took advantage of the new pitcher. He caught up to an elevated fastball and hit Latz’s pitch <a href="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/1935774322066370900" rel="noopener">387 feet to right center field</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jac Caglianone launches his 1st MLB home run! <a href="https://t.co/xIGYcQUw1K">pic.twitter.com/xIGYcQUw1K</a></p><p>— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1935774322066370900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caglianone’s swing did more than give Kansas City a 3-0 lead. After hitting just .196 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, the rookie showed that his power has not completely left him.</p><p>Royals manager Matt Quatraro has moved Caglianone down in his order after his slow start. However, his power is something the team desperately needs. Kansas City has the pitching necessary to get them into the playoffs. Despite their strength on the mound, their bats will determine just how far the team can go this season.</p><p>Caglianone’s home run is a big moment for the Royals’ rookie, but he is not the only first-year player doing well in Kansas City. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-noah-cameron-feat-last-done-1981-fernando-valenzuela">Royals pitcher Noah Cameron impressed throughout his first five MLB starts</a>, giving up one run or less in each appearance. He bounced back from a poor outing against the New York Yankees and is still in contention for this year’s Rookie of the Year Award.</p><p>The Royals have not had a player win Rookie of the Year honors since Angel Berroa did back in 2003. If Caglianone uses his home run to build momentum, he could enter the race and make some noise. Unfortunately, he has some ground to make up in order to catch players like Jacob Wilson. The Athletic’s shortstop is the current favorite to win the award.</p><p>Caglianone’s home run gave his team a commanding lead over the Rangers. Latz was able to get out of his outing without further damage. Unfortunately for him, Kansas City jumped out to an early lead thanks to their highly-touted rookie outfielder.</p><p>All eyes will be on Caglianone as he continues to navigate his rookie season. If he develops into a premier hitter, the Royals can add him to a promising core that features Bobby Witt Jr. and Pasquantino. For now, though, fans can marvel at the first home run of what they hope is a long, successful career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Watch Royals’ Jac Caglianone crush 1st career MLB home run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/10-greatest-kansas-city-royals-players-all-time-ranked');   ga('set', 'title', '10 greatest Kansas City Royals players of all time, ranked');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/10-greatest-Kansas-City-Royals-players-of-all-time-ranked-GALLERY.jpg"></figure><h1>10 greatest Kansas City Royals players of all time, ranked</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-17T12:25:38-07:00">June 17th, 12:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-17T12:25:38-07:00">June 17th, 12:25pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals have two World Series titles that help form the list of the greatest players in franchise history. Their 1985 title was led by George Brett, and their ragtag 2015 group featured Salvador Perez, who will certainly be on the list. Plus, a recent <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-aaron-judge-royals-bobby-witt-jr-give-flowers-alds">MVP runner-up is making a case to join them</a>. But who else joins them in Royals history? Check out the gallery for the greatest Kansas City baseball players ever.</p><h2><b>#1: George Brett (1973-93)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/George-Brett-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There is no debate about who the greatest Royals player of all time is. George Brett leads the franchise in many categories, including hits, doubles, triples, homers, RBIs, and walks. He won the 1980 American League MVP and the 1985 American League Championship Series MVP. In 21 seasons with the Royals, Brett made 13 All-Star Games, won three batting titles, and is in the Hall of Fame.</p><p>The Royals retired Brett’s number five, one of two players with their number in the rafters. Brett was the superstar for the 1985 championship team and was a leader for them for many years before and after. The former second-round pick became the greatest player in Kansas City’s history.</p><h2><b>#2: Bret Saberhagen (1984-91)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Bret-Saberhagen-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Bret Saberhagen is the greatest pitcher in Royals history despite a short stint in Kansas City. He came up in 1984 as a 20-year-old and split time between the rotation and the bullpen. But over the next five years, he was a mainstay in their rotation as one of the best pitchers in baseball. Saberhagen won the 1985 and 1989 American League Cy Young Awards and won the 1985 World Series MVP.</p><p>In the 1985 postseason, Saberhagen made four starts, pitched 25.1 innings, posted a 2.13 ERA, and won the World Series MVP. In Game 7 of the World Series, he threw a five-hit, complete-game shutout in the 11-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals. Combine the regular season and postseason greatness, and the greatest pitcher in Royals history is no debate.</p><h2><b>#3: Amos Otis (1970-83)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Amos-Otis-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Next on the list of greatest Royals players ever is one of the few without a championship. Amos Otis joined the Royals in 1970, just their second season in the major leagues. They weren’t very good that year, winning just 65 games, but Otis made the All-Star Game and led the American League in doubles. He continued to be a team leader, with five total All-Star nods and four top-ten MVP finishes.</p><p>Otis was vital to the 1980 Royals team that made the World Series and lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. He hit .429 with a 1.245 OPS in the nine games of that postseason. That includes multiple hits in each of the first five games of the World Series before going hitless in the deciding Game 6.</p><h2><b>#4: Salvador Perez (2011-present)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Salvador-Perez-with-KC-Royals-1.jpg"><figcaption>William Purnell-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-salvador-perez-robert-clemente-award-win">first current Royals player on the list is Salvador Perez</a>. Since 2011, he has been the catcher in Kansas City, winning five Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers. He is now the captain of the team, leading a young group despite some diminishing returns offensively. He has the second-highest defensive bWAR in franchise history is sixth in overall bWAR among position players.</p><p>Perez won the 2015 World Series MVP thanks to a .364 batting average and .846 OPS during the series against the Mets. He had the game-winning RBI in Game 4, which gave Kansas City a 3-1 series lead. Plus, he led the way for a historically great bullpen and the second title in franchise history.</p><h2><b>#5: Alex Gordon (2007-20)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Alex-Gordon-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Alex Gordon was another key member of the 2014 and 2015 Kansas City Royals clubs. He won eight Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves in his career, all in left field. His .748 career regular-season OPS made him a two-way menace for other teams in the American League. And both of those skills carried into the postseason, where he posted a .731 career OPS.</p><p>Gordon was the second-overall pick and came up at 23 years old in 2007. But he struggled both offensively and defensively, prompting a move to left field. He became one of the best defensive left fielders in the game for his entire career. While he won’t be in Cooperstown consideration, Gordon is certainly one of the top players in Royals history.</p><h2><b>#6: Willie Wilson (1976-90)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Willie-Wilson-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Peter G. Aiken/Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Willie Wilson is one of two players in Royals history to hit over 100 triples, joining Brett in that group. He also led all of baseball with 83 steals in 1979, the franchise record for a single season. Wilson’s 612 stolen bases mark one of the few franchise records Brett does not have. A traditional speed demon, he lasted 19 years in the bigs playing mostly centerfield.</p><p>Wilson’s improvements from the 1980 postseason to 1985 were a key reason the Royals won the title that year. He hit .205 with only two steals in October 1980. Five years later, he hit .339 with three steals, helping Kansas City win the title. The 1982 batting champion comes in sixth on our list.</p><h2><b>#7: Kevin Appier (1989-99, 2003-04)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kevin-Appier-with-KC-Royal.jpg"><figcaption>Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>Another pitcher comes here at seven, as Kevin Appier lands on the greatest Royals of all-time list. He is another player who did not make any World Series appearances but had an excellent career with Kansas City. In his first run with KC, he made just one All-Star game and received Cy Young votes just once. But his 1993 season was a highlight in a dark era, winning the ERA title and finishing third in Cy Young voting.</p><p>Appier left after the 1999 season and bounced around for a few years. He landed with the Angels, where he won the 2002 World Series. He made six starts in the two seasons during his second run with the Royals before retiring.</p><h2><b>#8: Frank White (1973-90)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Frank-White-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>H. Darr Beiser, USAT</figcaption></figure><p>Frank White is one of two Royals players with his number retired. He went to high school in Kansas City, spent his entire Major League career with the Royals, and was the Jefferson County Executive in retirement. While he is deep on the list of greatest players in franchise history, White is nothing short of a fan favorite. He racked up eight Gold Gloves at second base and posted the best defensive bWAR in franchise history.</p><p>White won the 1980 ALCS MVP, going 6-11 in a three-game sweep of the Yankees. His offense disappeared in the World Series, hitting just .080 with a .195 OPS against the Phillies. He put together a serious World Series MVP case with a .787 OPS and six RBIs in the seven games, but Saberhagen snagged it.</p><h2><b>#9: Zach Greinke (2004-10, 2022-23)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Zack-Greinke-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Zach Greinke, who spent nine seasons in Kansas City across two stints, comes in ninth on the Royals’ all-time list. He won the 2009 American League Cy Young Award, leading baseball with a 2.16 ERA that season. While he did not snag a ring with the 2015 squad, his career between Kansas City stints made him a Hall of Fame candidate. If he goes in, he should be donning a KC cap due to his great seasons with the team.</p><p>Greinke came back to the Royals for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. He struggled, posting a 4.38 ERA in 56 appearances, pitching in front of a dreadful squad. He is 21st in career strikeouts with 2,979, recently passed by his former teammate Clayton Kershaw. Even though there were a lot of years with more playoff success, there were no better years in Greinke’s career than the ones in Kansas City.</p><h2><b>#10: Bobby Witt Jr (2022-present)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Bobby-Witt-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-patrick-mahomes-reacts-making-mlb-playoffs">Royals had not made the playoffs since their World Series win entering the 2024 campaign</a>. But shortstop Bobby Witt Jr presented their best chance to do so last season. He had an incredible third season, posting a 9.4 bWAR, tied for the highest single-season total in Royals history. Even though he finished second to Aaron Judge in MVP voting, that season is enough to put him on this list, with some projection involved as well.</p><p>There is a great deal of conversation surrounding small-market teams versus big-market teams in modern baseball. Small-market teams develop stars, but they often cannot afford to pay them, and they leave for a select few clubs. But Witt bucked that trend, signing a deal that could keep him with the Royals through 2037.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

10 greatest Kansas City Royals players of all time, ranked

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-honest-message-getting-shut-out-athletics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bobby Witt Jr.’s brutally honest message after Royals’ shutout loss to Athletics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Bobby-Witt-Jr.s-brutally-honest-message-after-getting-shut-out-by-Athletics.jpg"><figcaption>Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bobby Witt Jr.’s brutally honest message after Royals’ shutout loss to Athletics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-14T18:43:17-07:00">June 14th, 6:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-14T18:43:17-07:00">June 14th, 6:43pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Bobby Witt Jr. wasn’t <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/royals-news-vinnie-pasquantino-brutally-honest-challenging-yankees-series">happy with how he and the Kansas City Royals</a> performed in their 4-0 shutout loss to the Athletics on Saturday.</p><p>The Athletics took a 2-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a two-run homer from Max Muncy. They later added a run in the fourth following an RBI double from Luis Urias. The squad scored their final run in the seventh inning as Lawrence Butler fired a solo shot down center field.</p><p>Throughout the night, the Royals was unable to respond with any run on the board. They also couldn’t stop the Athletics from having their way as they went 6-for-33 in their total at-bats.</p><p>Witt <a href="https://x.com/anne__rogers/status/1934026990627029500" rel="noopener">reflected on the loss</a> after the game, per reporter Anne Rogers. They even held a team meeting, addressing their issues as they look to improve their results moving forward.</p><p>“We have to figure something out. We have to change something. So the time was now,” Witt said.</p><h2><b>What’s next for Bobby Witt Jr., Royals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Bobby-Witt-Jr.s-brutally-honest-message-after-getting-shut-out-by-Athletics-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s a big step for Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals to take. They need to address their current struggles as they need to get their season back on track.</p><p>The Royals were unable to put any runs on the board, going 4-for-31 in their total at-bats. They also failed to put any pressure on the Athletics’ pitchers, only getting one walk for the entire game. As a result, they suffered their fifth consecutive defeat, losing momentum as they close in on the midway point of the season.</p><p>Kansas City has a 34-37 record on the season, holding the fourth spot in the AL Central Division standings. They are 2.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians.</p><p>The Royals will look to bounce back in their series finale against the Athletics. That matchup will take place on June 15 at 2:10 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bobby Witt Jr.’s brutally honest message after Royals’ shutout loss to Athletics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-vinnie-pasquantino-brutally-honest-challenging-yankees-series');   ga('set', 'title', 'Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino gets brutally honest on challenging Yankees series');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Vinnie-Pasquantino-of-the-Kansas-City-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino gets brutally honest on challenging Yankees series</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-13T11:41:53-07:00">June 13th, 11:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-13T11:41:53-07:00">June 13th, 11:41am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-kansas-city-pitching-staff-dealt-concerning-injury">Kansas City Royals just finished</a> their three-game series against the New York Yankees. It was a brutal series for Kansas City, as the team got swept in this matchup. It was the second time this season in which Kansas City was swept by New York, finishing the season series 0-6. After the loss on Thursday, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino got brutally honest about his team’s performance.</p><p>After the Royals’ 1-0 loss on Thursday, Pasquantino kept his reaction short, sweet, and to the point. The 27-year-old first baseman admitted that after the tough sweep, Kansas City just <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-bats-stay-silent-in-loss-to-yankees?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share" rel="noopener">needs to play much better</a>, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.</p><p>“That series sucked, plain and simple,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “[Starter Seth] Lugo was unbelievable tonight, and we gave him nothing. We just simply have to be better.”</p><p>It’s been a rough go for Vinnie Pasquantino and the Royals as a whole so far this season. They own a 34-35 record heading into Friday’s contest against the Athletics and are 10.5 games behind the first-placed Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. Kansas City is also in fourth place in the division.</p><p>The good news is there’s still plenty of time <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-jac-caglianone-said-buzz-mlb-debut">for the Royals to mount a comeback</a> this season. But the bats have to get hot. Vinnie Pasquantino has been decent for Kansas City, but if he were to take it to another level, then the team would largely benefit. Through 265 at-bats, he owns a .279 batting average and .333 OBP while recording 74 hits, 10 home runs, and 38 RBIs.</p><p>Kansas City’s next three-game series is against the Athletics at home. It’s an opportunity for Vinnie Pasquantino and the Royals to get back on track and potentially get the record back above .500. Game 1 of the series kicks off at 8:10 p.m. on Friday night. Michael Wacha is expected to start on the mound in this one.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino gets brutally honest on challenging Yankees series

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-all-star-pitcher-cole-ragans-difficult-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Royals All-Star pitcher gets difficult injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Royals-starting-pitcher-Cole-Ragans.jpg"><figcaption>Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Royals All-Star pitcher gets difficult injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-12T18:09:23-07:00">June 12th, 6:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-12T18:09:51-07:00">June 12th, 6:09pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals (34-34) have kind of sneaked up on everybody this season, but not in the way that they intended. Following a promising campaign that saw the franchise increase its win total by 30 and clinch a playoff berth for the first time in nine years, KC sits in fourth place in the American League Central. A stellar pitching staff is keeping the ballclub afloat, but baling out a lopsided lineup will be hard to do in the long run in light of <a href="https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/cole-ragans-injured-list-rotator-cuff-strain" rel="noopener">the latest development</a>.</p><p>All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans, who landed on the injured list Wednesday because of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-kansas-city-pitching-staff-dealt-concerning-injury">rotator cuff strain</a>, is being shut down from throwing “for a while,” via MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. The glum prognosis, which was conveyed by manager Matt Quatraro, compounds what has been an unpleasant June thus far.</p><p>Ragans returned to the mound last Thursday after missing three weeks with a left groin strain, so his swift return to the IL is obviously harsh news to endure. The 27-year-old finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting last season but has a 5.18 ERA through 10 starts in 2025. The Royals have more than survived his struggles, with Kris Bubic anchoring a staff that is currently tied with the San Diego Padres for the fifth-best ERA in MLB.</p><p>Even so, maintaining such form without a talented strikeout machine like Ragans (76 Ks in 48 2/3 innings) figures to be quite difficult. Kansas City’s campaign continues to take a downward turn.</p><h2><b>Royals have yet to build on a successful 2024</b></h2><p>Following last year’s playoffs defeat to the New York Yankees, MVP runner-up <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-bobby-witt-jr-delivers-powerful-reminder-after-alds-loss">Bobby Witt Jr. touched on the promising future</a> that lied ahead for the franchise. “It’s not ‘how we’re going to get there,’ it’s ‘how far we’re going to go,'” he told reporters. Fast forward to now, and KC is hoping to avoid getting swept by the Yankees and falling below .500 for the first time since late April. This is not how things are supposed to go. Or are they?</p><p>Royals general manager J.J. Picollo rightly earned praise for the job he did in upgrading the roster in the 2023 offseason, and the results showed up in the standings. This past winter, he wisely fortified the bullpen by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-agree-terms-closer-carlos-estevez">signing closer Carlos Estevez</a> to a two-year, $22 million contract — a move that is working out magnificently to this point — but the exec did not add the requisite offensive firepower.</p><p>Former Rookie of the Year Jonathan India, the team’s most notable position player acquisition, is batting a modest .252 with three home runs and a .342 slugging percentage. KC as a whole ranks dead last in MLB with 46 long balls and is 25th in both OPS and slugging. Hitting was a question mark entering the offseason, and although Witt and breakout utility man Maikel Garcia are impressing through the first 68 games, offense is simply too scarce.</p><p>A huge burden is on the starting rotation’s shoulders to keep the Royals in the hunt for an AL Wild Card slot. Cole Ragans’ recent injury setback only increases that load.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Royals All-Star pitcher gets difficult injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-kansas-city-pitching-staff-dealt-concerning-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Royals’ pitching staff dealt concerning injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Cole-Ragans-of-the-Kansas-City-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Royals’ pitching staff dealt concerning injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-11T15:21:13-07:00">June 11th, 3:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-11T15:21:13-07:00">June 11th, 3:21pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the Kansas City Royals fighting to remain in the mix of the AL Central, the club received some concerning news regarding one of their starting pitchers. Reports indicate that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-crucial-cole-ragans-roster-move">Cole Ragan’s injury is potentially more serious</a> than previously thought, and the club is currently waiting for test results.</p><p>Ragans is dealing with <a href="https://x.com/anne__rogers/status/1932910975864221761" rel="noopener">a rotator cuff strain</a>, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Manager Matt Quatraro claims the club has yet to determine how long the 27-year-old pitcher will be out for, but it sounds like Ragans will be on the injured list for quite some time.</p><p>“Royals didn’t provide many details about the severity of Ragans’ rotator cuff strain. Quatraro said that they were waiting for a few test results to come back before determining severity and timeline. Doesn’t sound like it will be a quick IL stint like last time, though.”</p><p>Rogers reports that the Royals had originally hoped for Cole Ragans to return to the mound soon after initially injuring his shoulder in the previous week. But Ragans felt something wrong with his shoulder despite Kansas City giving him a few extra days to rest to manage the injury.</p><p>“Ragans felt shoulder soreness after his start last week against STL. Team had pushed Ragans back a few days in the rotation to see if it would go away. He was feeling OK, then it popped up again, playing catch [Tuesday]. That led to getting scans/testing.”</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-star-rookie-joins-fernando-valenzuela-exclusive-list">Royals will continue</a> to monitor Ragans’ status closely. In an ideal world, Ragans avoids a tear in his rotator cuff and only needs to be on the 10 or 15-day IL. But a trip to the 60-day IL is certainly in play.</p><p>It’s been a rocky season for the 2024 All-Star, as Ragans has not been as effective this season as he was last year. Through 48.2 innings pitched, the Royals’ starting pitcher owns a 5.18 ERA and 1.295 WHIP while recording 76 strikeouts.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Royals’ pitching staff dealt concerning injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-jac-caglianone-super-fired-up-admission-home-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jac Caglianone’s ‘super fired up’ admission for Royals’ home debut');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jac-Caglianone-with-KC-Royals.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jac Caglianone’s ‘super fired up’ admission for Royals’ home debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-09T08:33:15-07:00">June 9th, 8:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-09T08:33:15-07:00">June 9th, 8:33am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals lost a series to the Chicago White Sox over the weekend to fall to 34-32. But they had a big prospect make a splash on the big stage over the weekend. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/watch-royals-jac-caglianones-welcome-to-the-show-moment-in-mlb-debut">brutal luck in his first games, Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone</a> had a four-hit game over the weekend. Now, he is set to make his home debut with the Royals against the Yankees this week. He told Jay Cohen of The Associated Press that he is ready to greet the Kauffman Stadium debut.</p><p>“I’m super fired up. I think I’m more excited for that than I was for the actual debut itself,” Caglianone said. “I have a lot of family and friends coming to that, so I’m excited to see them, and I’m excited to see all the fans at (Kauffman Stadium).”</p><p>On Sunday, Caglianone slapped three singles and a double to help the Royals beat the White Sox. They brought him up to help with their offense, which is exactly what they did in that game. With Salvador Perez and Michael Massey struggling at the plate, the pressure is on the youngster to produce immediately.</p><p>The Royals drafted Caglianone sixth overall in last year’s MLB Draft. He was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-sports/florida-baseball-star-breaks-school-home-run-record-college-world-series-pursuit">two-way star at the University of Florida</a>, earning the nickname ‘Jac-Tani’ for his pitching prowess. But he’s since dropped the pitching and focused only on the hitting. He hit .322 with a .982 OPS in 50 games between AA and AAA this year.</p><p>In six MLB games, Caglianone has started four times in right field and twice as the designated hitter. He did pick up two innings at first base on Saturday against Chicago. This adds to the pile of players who can play first and DH for the Royals, including Freddie Fermin, Salvador Perez, and Vinnie Pasquantino. Expect Caglianone to play a lot of outfield as his rookie season continues.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jac Caglianone’s ‘super fired up’ admission for Royals’ home debut

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-maikel-garcia-vinnie-pasquantino-homers-white-sox');   ga('set', 'title', 'Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino smash back-to-back homers vs. White Sox');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMAGN-May-8-2025-Kansas-City-Missouri-USA-Kansas-City-Royals-first-baseman-Vinnie-Pasquantino-9-celebrates-with-third-baseman-Maikel-Garcia-11-after-scoring-a-run-during-the-fir.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino smash back-to-back homers vs. White Sox</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-06T18:13:37-07:00">June 6th, 6:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-06T18:13:37-07:00">June 6th, 6:13pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Kansas City Royals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Kansas City Royals have quite the pair of sluggers. There is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/royals-news-vinnie-pasquantino-pasquatch-nickname-origin" rel="noopener">Vinnie Pasquantino, better known as “Pasquatch,” </a> and then there’s<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/kansas-city-royals/1-player-kansas-city-royals-must-trade-before-2025-deadline" rel="noopener"> Maikel Garcia, who could be traded before the deadline</a>.</p><p>Both know how to exalt power at the plate. <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1931145126488711229" rel="noopener">This is evident</a> by their back-to-back home runs against the Chicago White Sox on Friday, per MLB.</p><p>They did so in the top of the third inning with the Royals trailing the White Sox 1-0.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino go back-to-back to put the <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Royals</a> ahead ⚾️ <a href="https://t.co/XrfgCPUAFT">pic.twitter.com/XrfgCPUAFT</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1931145126488711229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Garcia is batting .311 with 69 hits, six home runs, and 29 RBIs. Conversely, Pasquantino is batting .267 with 65 hits, eight home runs, and 36 RBIs.</p><p>Both have played with the Royals for four seasons each. Garcia signed with the club in 2016. Three years later, the Royals drafted Pasquantino. </p><p>The Royals are 33-30 thus far and remain in 4th place in the American League Central. Garcia and Pasquantino have the makings of being an effective tandem. </p><h2><b>The Royals’ dynamic duo </b></h2><p>Both Garcia and Pasquantino add a dimension of strength and stamina to Kansas City’s lineup. Garcia can hit for average as well as providing speed on the basepaths. </p><p>Thus far, he has 13 stolen bases to his name. Pasquantino brings the power at the plate and generates high RBI totals. In addition, Garcia and Pasquantino utilized their respective skills to come through at notable moments. </p><p>On April 4, both finished the game with 3 RBIs each against the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals went on to win 8-2. </p><p>On May 24, it was Garcia who brought home Pasquantino and Freddy Fermin with a go-ahead single in the 3rd inning against the Minnesota Twins. Kansas City went up 2-0 and won the game 2-1. </p><p>On Thursday, Pasquantino hit a go-ahead single against the St. Louis Cardinals that brought in Garcia. Kansas City took a 5-4 lead in the 1oth inning. They went on to win 6-5. </p><p>In the area of leadership, both were recognized by the Royals as “May Literacy Leaders”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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