The Cincinnati Reds seemed to be destined to remain at the bottom of the MLB standings in 2022. After all, they had a 3-22 record, a performance that very few teams are going to dig themselves out of. With that start to the season, it was going to be difficult to make up ground on the rest of the league. Fortunately for the Reds, the Kansas City Royals exist.
The Royals had designs on contending this year. They had claimed that they were done with the rebuilding process and were looking to compete. Yes, they were going to rely upon their prospects in the coming years, but they had supplemented the roster with veteran pieces to move closer to that goal.
Kansas City Royals find new low in tying Cincinnati Reds
So much for those plans. The Royals entered Monday’s action just .5 games up on the Reds for last place in the majors. It took the Reds just 22 games to battle back and get to within striking distance of the rest of the league. When the Royals inevitably lost to the Guardians, that put the two teams in a tie for the worst record at 16-31.
The Reds may be able to move up the standings fairly quickly. The Tigers and Nationals are both within two games of Cincinnati at this point, a margin that could be passed by the end of the week. It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Royals will be left far behind by the time the season has come to an end.
As it is, changes have been made. The Royals did fire their hitting coach already this season. However, they keep trotting out the likes of Carlos Santana and Ryan O’Hearn and wonder why nothing changes. To make matters even worse, they may not get the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of this display of incompetence.
The Kansas City Royals have fallen far enough to be tied with the Cincinnati Reds in the standings. And it will only get worse as the year continues.