Royals make playoffs a year after 106-loss season
ATLANTA — The Kansas City Royals completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in major league history Friday night, clinching an American League wild card despite a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
A year ago, the Royals matched a franchise record with 106 losses. Now, they are headed to the postseason for the first time since winning the 2015 World Series.
“We’re just so proud of everyone,” said shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the face of the revitalized franchise. “This is just the beginning of something special.”
The celebration was delayed by a masterful performance from Atlanta pitcher Max Fried. But the Royals finally popped the champagne corks in the visitors’ clubhouse at Truist Park when the Minnesota Twins were eliminated with a 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
“This isn’t how we ideally wanted it,” Witt said. “But we’re here. We did it. We’re so proud of each other. We can’t let one game control our season.”
Led by second-year manager Matt Quatraro, Kansas City is the first team in baseball history to make the playoffs after posting such a dismal mark the previous season.
In fact, since the start of the expansion era in 1961, the Royals are just the third team to advance to the postseason after losing at least 100 games the previous year.
The Twins earned a wild card in 2017 after going 59-103 a year earlier, and the 2020 Florida Marlins qualified for a wild card during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign coming off a 57-105 debacle.
The Royals quickly fell on hard times after claiming back-to-back AL pennants in 2014 and 2015 and their first World Series title in 30 years. They had not recorded a winning season since their championship run, losing at least 100 games in three of the past six, and were a laughingstock just a year ago.
That all changed this season with a team led by Witt, who became the first shortstop in major league history with multiple seasons of at least 30 homers and 30 steals.
“You can’t help but be proud,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “It was a battle all year long. We overcame a lot of odds.”
The Royals have struggled down the stretch, enduring a pair of seven-game losing streaks.
It didn’t stop them in the end.
“We had some adversity here the last month of the season,” Picollo said. “But this is a tough, resilient group and we got through and here we are celebrating this moment.”
Witt tops the majors with 210 hits and a .332 batting average, to go along with 32 homers, 109 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.
Veteran catcher Salvador Perez also is having a huge offensive season with 27 homers and 104 RBIs. The Royals made the playoffs even after losing first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who had 97 RBIs before breaking his right thumb and undergoing surgery.
There is a chance Pasquantino could return during the playoffs if the Royals make an extended run.
Amazingly, Picollo didn’t have to break the bank to build a small-market winner.
The players who have led Kansas City to heights not seen in nearly a decade were either on the team last year and just needed a little more time to grow or were free agent signings and trade acquisitions who underscored Picollo’s baseball savvy.
Just check out the rotation.
Seth Lugo, who is 16-9 with a 3.03 ERA, signed a modest three-year, $45 million free agent deal. Michael Wacha signed a similar two-year, $32 million deal and is 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA.
Cole Ragans has contributed 11 wins with 223 strikeouts after being acquired from the Texas Rangers in a trade last season. Brady Singer bounced back from a disappointing 2023, and Michael Lorenzen is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in six starts since his arrival just before the trade deadline.
The bullpen has been entirely rebuilt, too, with Lucas Erceg earning 11 saves since the Royals landed him in a trade with Milwaukee.
Owner John Sherman said he was thrilled that the fans of Kansas City have a winning team to cheer for again.
“I remember we talked about this a lot, maybe in spring training, that all we want to do is play meaningful baseball in August and September and have a chance to play in October,” Sherman said. “Here we are.”
Nobody seems to be having more fun than Witt, who has put together a historic season after signing an 11-year deal worth $288.7 million to serve as the cornerstone of the franchise.
“I remember we talked about this a lot, maybe in spring training, that all we want to do is play meaningful baseball in August and September and have a chance to play in October. Here we are.”
Royals owner John Sherman
The son of longtime big league pitcher Bobby Witt is the first player in major league history with multiple 30-30 seasons in his first three years in the majors. Advanced metrics grade him as not only one of baseball’s best defenders but also one of its fastest players.
“He’s the best player in baseball,” Ragans said recently. “A special talent, a special human being.”
While fans in Kansas City have seen Witt’s stardom blossoming for several seasons, his coming-out party might have come this summer during the Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, not far from where he grew up in Colleyville, Texas.
Witt reached the finals before losing 14-13 to Teoscar Hernandez of the Dodgers in a dramatic showdown that came down to the final swings.
Now, Witt can look forward to an even bigger stage.
The postseason.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson is now the majority owner of Legacy Motor Club under a restructuring in which investment adviser Knighthead Capital Management bought into the Cup Series team.
Knighthead manages $9 billion of assets with a portfolio that includes investments in Hertz, World Endurance Championship sports car team JOTA Racing, Singer Vehicle Design, Revology Cars and a controlling stake of English soccer team Birmingham.
Johnson told The Associated Press that the deal announced Monday makes Knighthead “a significant minority partner” in that the private equity firm bought much of the ownership stake held by Legacy co-owner Maury Gallagher.
Gallagher retained some shares in the NASCAR team but will step down from day-to-day operations and join Hall of Famer Richard Petty as an ambassador for Legacy.
Johnson, who has been living in England for more than a year, will return to Charlotte to be hands-on in his larger role with Legacy. His wife and two daughters will follow at the end of the school year.
“I thought I was going to have three more years to understand ownership more,” Johnson told the AP of his original plan when he bought into the NASCAR team ahead of the 2023 season.
Legacy is essentially the rebuild of Petty Enterprises, one of NASCAR’s oldest and winningest race teams. Gallagher, the chairman of Allegiant Air, owned GMS Racing and, in 2021, acquired Richard Petty Motorsports, rebranding it as Petty GMS Racing.
Johnson signed on at the end of 2022, and the team was again rebranded into Legacy as it expanded to two full-time Cup cars ahead of the 2023 season. The plan was to allow Johnson to grow into his role as NASCAR team owner over five seasons, but the timeline changed when he developed a relationship with Knighthead and Gallagher decided to step back.
“I’ve had an open eye to the private equity world and trying to understand what’s out there,” Johnson said. “I know that there are some other teams with PE involvement, and I just started to get to know people. I had a head start and a few friendships out there, but ultimately the opportunity and access to Knighthead and the friendship I built was done socially, and when it was time to really engage in the PE world, we just clicked and got together to see where we could go.
“We wanted to move quick. And here we are, it’s only been a couple of months, it’s been very, very quick.”
The partnership begins immediately, and Knighthead will be part of Legacy when the NASCAR season begins this weekend with the preseason race at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem.
Tom Wagner, co-founder and co-managing member of Knighthead Capital, said the firm was drawn by “NASCAR’s rich history and Legacy MC’s ambition and innovation make it a unique opportunity.”
“We’re thrilled to collaborate … to drive the team forward, both on the track and within the wider racing community,” Wagner added.
Tom Brady has stakes in Knighthead but the deal with Legacy does not involve him at this time, Johnson said. But Johnson and Brady have discussed possibly partnering on an Indianapolis 500 entry for driver Sebastian Bourdais with Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi told the AP he had only one preliminary conversation with Johnson about it and there has been no further discussion.
Legacy this season will field two full-time cars: the No. 43 Toyota for Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota for John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson will attempt to qualify next month for the season-opening Daytona 500 and also the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Johnson, who turns 50 in September, ran nine races last year but said he realized at the season-finale in Phoenix that Legacy needs him more in his executive role than as a driver.
He thanked Gallagher for the opportunity to become a NASCAR team owner and is eager to help Legacy improve its on-track performance while working with Knighthead to expand the brand.
“He has been an outstanding partner, mentor and friend, and I’m grateful we had the opportunity to work together,” Johnson said of Gallagher. “I’ve learned so much from him, and as his professional career takes a different path, he can worry less about being an owner and more about focusing on family and enjoying life.”
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — The Cubs are finalizing a trade to acquire closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros, pending medical review, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday.
Pressly will waive his no-trade clause to facilitate the move, and Houston will send money to help cover his $14 million salary, the sources said.
The Astros will receive a low-level Cubs prospect who is not on Chicago’s 40-man roster, according to a source.
Pressly, 36, is likely to become the Cubs’ closer, a role he held with Houston from 2021 to 2023 before it signed Josh Hader to a long-term contract. The veteran righty has 112 saves with a 3.27 ERA during his 12-year career, which includes six seasons in Minnesota.
Pressly will join a bullpen that blew 26 saves last season, as the Cubs are looking to make a playoff push in 2025. Chicago hasn’t been to the postseason since 2020, working without an established closer over the past few years.
Righty Adbert Alzolay was ineffective last season, then he suffered a forearm injury and eventually needed Tommy John surgery. Porter Hodge, 23, finished the season as the closer, but the team wanted more experience and depth in the back end of the bullpen.
The Cubs pursued lefty Tanner Scott before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend, according to league sources. Chicago was less interested in the other free agent closers, instead settling for Pressly, who has one year left on a three-year, $42 million contract signed before the 2023 season.
Pressly will join newcomers Eli Morgan, Cody Poteet, Matt Festa, Caleb Thielbar and Rob Zastryzny in the Cubs’ bullpen.
The trade likely will conclude the bulk of the team’s winter moves.
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