Injured Royals Reliever Listed As 'No Longer Worth Defending'

The Kansas City Royals are off to a rough start. After being swept by the New York Yankees, the Royals fell to 8-11 on the year and they now sit in third place in the American League Central, 2 1/2 games back of the first place Detroit Tigers.

The offense has been the main problem, but there are other issues bagging them down as well. Certain players are struggling, and it is leading to the Royals starting to slip in the standings early on.

Jacob Milham of FanSided recently listed three Royals players not worth defending anymore. On the list was injured left-handed reliever Sam Long, who owns a 12.86 ERA on the year.

"As Long rests and isn't throwing at all right now, his 12.86 ERA is gaudy, a 7.17 FIP far outpaces his career average, and his -0.3 fWAR already negates the 0.2 fWAR he posted across 42 2/3 innings for Kansas City last year. All the harm done in seven games undid all the good Long did across 43 appearances last year," Milham writes.

Long had a strong 2024 season, appearing in 43 games and posting a 3.16 ERA while also going 3-3 on the year. He has bounced around in his career between the Royals, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.

However, 2025 has been rough for him so far. His numbers through 12 games aren't inspiring, and the Royals need better production out of him if he's going to stay on the roster when he comes back.

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