The hopes of the 2019 Royals were dim from the start. Despite playing in the worst division in baseball, Kansas City was coming off of a 104 loss season and looked far from contention. But the combination of Spring Training optimism and playing in the atrocious American League Central made the postseason a destination that could be reached if everything bounced the right way and if you squinted hard enough.
That optimism came and went with the news that Salvador Perez had suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament that would require season-ending elbow surgery.