Royals Get Updated Postseason Prediction After Strong Trade Deadline

Few seem to be considering the Kansas City Royals as playoff contenders these days, but they're not out of the picture.

Following a series win on the road against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, the Royals are back at .500. They played well enough in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline to convince the front office to buy, and so far, that decision seems justified.

Still, the Royals are 3 1/2 games back of the third wild-card spot, which is currently held by the Seattle Mariners. Do they have enough ammunition to make a late push and overtake their foes from the American League West?

On Sunday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicted the playoff teams from each league coming out of the trade deadline. And though he had praise for how the Royals handled the deadline, Miller ultimately projected that the Royals would miss out on October.

"The surprise buyers. After all the Seth Lugo trade speculation turned instead into a multi-year extension for the ace of the staff, the Royals pivoted into a bit of an under-the-radar buyer," wrote Miller.

"Freddy Fermin went to San Diego for a pair of potential starters in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. They also got Bailey Falter to pitch, as well as Adam Frazier, Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski to spruce up what has been a horrific outfield. Not a bad little deadline for a team that definitely isn't dead yet."

Yastrzemski belted a home run in his first at-bat with the Royals, helping to power a 9-3 win in the Toronto series opener. Meanwhile, Falter and Bergert are the team's scheduled starters in the first two games of their next series, a critical road tilt with the Boston Red Sox.

Quite obviously, the Royals have some work to do for most baseball fans to become believers. But their destiny is still in their hands, and they've built some momentum with a strong month of July.

More MLB: Royals Reveal Plans For Catching Position After Padres-Freddy Fermin Trade