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The Kansas City Royals (69-64) had won 11 straight games Danny Duffy (11-2, 3.01 ERA) started until he got hammered by the Boston Red Sox in his last outing Saturday.

Now the Royals will try to avoid losing two straight with Duffy on the hill when they host the Detroit Tigers (72-61) as -165 home betting favorites (bet $165 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark in a key American League Central matchup starting Friday.

Duffy surrendered seven runs and nine hits—including three homers—to the Red Sox in five innings of an 8-3 loss in his most recent start. He had given up more than three runs only once in his previous 16 starts before that and saw his ERA rise from 2.66.

But Duffy has yet to suffer a setback at home this season, going a perfect 6-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 18 appearances at Kauffman Stadium, including 11 starts.

The Tigers are three games ahead of Kansas City in the AL Central standings and trail the division-leading Cleveland Indians by 4.5 games heading into the final month of the season. Detroit is coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and sends the struggling Anibal Sanchez (7-13, 5.92 ERA) to the mound. He’s going for just his second win since August 2.

Sanchez last won on the road against the Minnesota Twins on August 23, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings of an 8-3 victory. However, he followed that up by giving up five runs and eight hits in 5.2 innings of a 5-0 home loss Sunday.

The Royals have dominated the season series this year, winning nine of 13 meetings so far, including three straight and seven of the past nine. Most of the games have been low-scoring affairs recently, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, with the under going 5-1-1 in the previous seven games between the teams. Before that, the over was on an 11-2 run dating back to August 2015.

The Tigers were just swept at home by Kansas City in a three-game series August 15-17, getting outscored by a 13-3 margin.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Baseball fans who remember last winter’s free-agent frenzy should hold on to those memories, for the upcoming crop of unsigned talent is shaping up to be one of the weakest in recent memory, especially when it comes to starting pitching.

That’s why many, including Bleacher Report’s Jacob Shafer, believe that the trade market could be the driving force behind much of the coming offseason’s most notable, game-changing moves.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the top players, both free agents and potential trade candidates, who could be wearing a different uniform come Opening Day 2017—and predicted their fate. 

Of course, with two months to go before the offseason begins, much can—and probably will—change. Not only could our list of players look drastically different the next time we revisit those who could be on the move, but their ultimate destinations could change as well.

How drastically things will change is a question that can’t be answered, at least not yet. But we’ve got answers to other queries, such as whether Wilson Ramos will re-sign with Washington before testing the open market and whether Chris Sale is a lock to be traded by the Chicago White Sox.

Read on to get the answers.

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Roughly five weeks are left in the 2016 MLB regular season, and while the playoff picture is taking shape, there is still a lot to be decided before October.

In the American League, 10 legitimate contenders remain. The Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have a strong hold on their respective division leads, but the AL East is a three-team race, and the two wild-card spots are wide open.

The National League picture is not as congested, but eight clubs are still in position to reach the postseason. The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are locks to fill two of the five spots. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants both look like good bets as well, regardless of who wins the NL West. That leaves four teams to battle it out for the final wild-card spot.

What follows is a look at each club’s chances of reaching the postseason, with the following factors taken into account:

• Current standings
• Recent performance
• Injury concerns

So, with the regular season set to wrap up on Oct. 2, here is an updated division-by-division look at the playoff chances of all the remaining contenders from where they stood one week ago.

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There’s no official deadline for MLB teams to strike a trade through revocable waivers, but playoff contenders have until Wednesday to make a deal that can factor into the postseason.

Any player acquired after Aug. 31 is not eligible for his new club’s playoff roster, so a postseason hopeful must hurry if it foresees an acquisition producing in October. It’s not a far-fetched scenario, as Chase Utley and Addison Reed played postseason baseball for teams that traded for them last August.

If a player clears waivers, his team can bargain a deal with any other organization. If a franchise places a claim, that team holds exclusive negotiating rights. The player’s team can also pull the waived player back or let him go outright.

So far, little of note has happened past the non-waiver deadline. The Miami Marlins acquired Jeff Francoeur, the Washington Nationals landed Marc Rzepczynski and the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers swapped veteran catchers Carlos Ruiz and A.J. Ellis.

None of these deals reshaped the playoff picture. It’s unlikely any blockbuster moves go down, but some notable names are floating around as possible trade candidates.

Here are some predictions for what will transpire before Wednesday’s cutoff for postseason eligibility.

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Two division leaders will clash at Chavez Ravine on Friday night when the Chicago Cubs visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a key three-game series.

The Cubs had a day off Thursday and will play the seventh game of their nine-game West Coast road trip as a small -110 betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

Chicago is 4-2 in the first six games of the trip and will send Mike Montgomery (1-1, 2.77 ERA in the National League) to the mound looking for his second win in his second consecutive start for the team after arriving in a trade from the Seattle Mariners.

Montgomery pitched well in his first start last time out in the second game of the trip against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit before hitting his pitch count.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon limited Montgomery to 60 pitches after he transitioned from the bullpen.

Los Angeles will counter with Bud Norris (6-10, 4.69 ERA), who just pitched twice against the Cincinnati Reds in four days following a rough outing in his first appearance.

Norris surrendered six runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings of a 9-2 loss at Cincinnati with four walks and three strikeouts a week ago before returning to the hill and pitching two-thirds of an inning in an 18-9 rout of the Reds on Monday.

Norris has pitched better at home, though, going 4-4 with a 2.77 ERA at Dodger Stadium, as opposed to 2-6 with a 6.89 ERA on the road, and beat Chicago in a 5-1 home win on June 10 as a member of the Atlanta Braves.

The Cubs have won four of the past five meetings with the Dodgers dating back to last season, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database. However, the under has been the play in this series recently, cashing in 10 of the last 11 games between the teams.

The lone over during that stretch came in the last meeting, with Chicago winning 7-2 at Wrigley Field on June 2. Three of the previous four games saw three runs or fewer scored.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

A month ago, it looked like the defending World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals, were nothing more than an afterthought in the playoff picture. As we prepare to head into the final month of baseball’s regular season, though, the Royals sit in the thick of the AL playoff race.

But Kansas City isn’t the only team making noise. Has an untimely injury knocked a contender out of the running? Does a slugger’s desire to stay with his current team mean that he will?

We’ll hit on all that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction. 

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There are roughly six weeks left in the 2016 MLB regular season, and while the playoff picture is taking shape, there is still a lot to be decided before October.

In the American League, there are 10 legitimate contenders remaining. The Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have a strong hold on their respective division leads, but the AL East is a three-team race and the two wild-card spots are wide-open.

The National League picture is not as congested, but there are still eight clubs in position to reach the postseason. The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are essentially locks to fill two of the five spots. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants both look like good bets as well, regardless of who wins the NL West. That leaves four teams battling it out for the final wild-card spot.

What follows is a look at each club’s chances of reaching the postseason, with the following factors taken into account:

• Current standings
• Recent performance
• Injury concerns

So with the regular season set to wrap up on Oct. 2, here is a division-by-division look at the playoff chances of all the remaining contenders.

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Normally, the free-agent market commands the baseball universe’s attention for most of the offseason. That’s about to change.

With one of the weakest free-agent classes in recent history set to hit the open market, teams are going to turn their attention to the trade market in an attempt to plug the holes on their respective rosters, while others will be looking to move veterans to clear space for an upstart youngster.

We are only focused on major league players—you won’t find a prospect listed on the pages that follow. Additionally, keep this in mind: Just because a player is listed here doesn’t mean that he actually will be traded. This is simply a rundown of the player each general manager will be working the phones trying to find a new home for.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig is an obvious selection, which is why the outfielder gets the marquee photo above. Which players could join him on the trade circuit this coming offseason? Let’s take a look.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers (69-55) maintained their spot atop the National League West division standings Monday with an 18-9 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers will open a key three-game home series with the San Francisco Giants (68-56) and go for their third straight win, as the division lead will be on the line and both teams are listed at -110 (bet $110 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The Giants will be going for their third consecutive victory in the series after winning the last two games between the teams at home in the middle of June. They are 6-4 in 10 meetings so far this season and will be looking to snap a two-game skid overall with ace Madison Bumgarner (12-7, 2.25 ERA) on the mound.

Bumgarner has won two in a row following a stretch in which he went five starts without a win, going 0-3 with four of them coming on the road. He is 5-4 away from home with a 2.85 ERA, more than a run higher than his ERA at AT&T Park this year, and 0-1 in two outings versus Los Angeles with a 4.09 ERA.

The Dodgers will counter with Kenta Maeda (12-7, 3.29) and have won in each of the past five games he has started. Maeda has earned victories in four of them, allowing two runs four times and walking just three batters while striking out 26 in 28.2 innings.

Maeda has a losing record at home, though, at 4-5 despite a solid 3.33 ERA but beat San Francisco on April 17, giving up one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 win.

Those bettors looking for a totals play in the series opener might want to look at the under, which has cashed in four of the previous five meetings along with eight of 12, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

There have been five runs or less scored in three of the last four games, including a 3-1 victory for Los Angeles in the most recent one at Chavez Ravine on April 17. The under is also 4-1 in the past five meetings played at Dodger Stadium dating back to last year.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Predicting some of the division races that are all but official—such as the National League Central—would just be adding fluff to any set of MLB playoff projections. 

But several races will provide us with great theater during the latter portion of the MLB season. So, whether you agree or not, consider this your Playbill for baseball’s hotly contested races.

But to agree or disagree you have to read on, right?

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