Michael Massey is easy to root for. We’ve all seen athletes who are full of themselves, and frankly you want athletes to have a little swagger—it’s a mentally demanding profession where fans can switch from giving you love to sending you death threats.

But some players come across as good guys, and in Massey’s case, that’s true for the folks who work with him. There’s an award given by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America called the Mike Swanson Good Guy Award, and Massey has won it in back-to-back years.

So when Massey struggled out of the gate this year, fans weren’t particularly phased. In part, this is because Massey was legitimately good at the plate last year. In part, it’s because other players—MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe, Cavan Biggio—drew the lion’s share of the ire, and a fanbase can’t get mad about everybody (most of the time).

Now, all three of those other players are no longer with the team. Massey, however, is, though he really shouldn’t be. Per Fangraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement, there are 17 players this year with 100 or more plate appearances and less than -0.5 WAR. Of this 287-player set, Massey is fourth-worst at -0.9 WAR. The others worse than him? Andrew Vaughn, who the White Sox optioned to Triple-A. The aforementioned Renfroe, who the Royals cut recently. And LaMonte Wade Jr., whose recent track record is enough to keep him on the field for longer.

What has happened to Massey? Well, the answer might be what hasn’t happened to Massey? Just about everything is worse in his hitting portfolio: he’s walking at a career worst level, he’s barreling balls at a career worst level, his average and max exit velocity are at career lows, his hard hit rate is at a career low. It hasn’t been good.

This also does not feel good. To put this into, like, normal people terms, doing this poorly for such a long time is like playing Overwatch or Counter-Strike or League of Legends and getting into a big losing streak. This sucks, and when you’re in the middle of the losing streak, you’re more likely to be grumpy to teammates and see your performance go down, which begets more losing and bad play. Massey probably isn’t a Hanzo main or anything, but that doesn’t matter because we can see how he’s reacting to screwups like this popup on Sunday’s game: he’s mad at himself!

We have reached the point in the season where keeping Massey up in Kansas City isn’t helping anybody. It’s not helping Kansas City, where Massey is now functionally the second-worst hitter in the league and an offensive black hole. It is also not helping Massey, who looks just plain lost out there. If he’s going to get back on track, it is not going to be here in Kansas City, where he is making outs at a huge clip.

Frankly, I don’t think there’s a route forward for Massey to be a productive big leaguer regardless what he does. It all comes down to getting on base, which he does not do. In about 1,200 plate appearances, Massey’s on base percentage is .277. That’s just not going to cut it, especially when you look at his historical exit velocities and barrel rates, which aren’t high enough to yield the power that he needs to produce to overcome such a low OBP.

Who could take Massey’s place? There are two options. One is a like-for-like replacement, with infielder Cam Devanney getting the call. Devanney is a 28-year-old who is in his fourth year in Triple-A, but he’s crushing it this year to the tune of a .301/.382/.618 triple slash. The other option is a lefty-for-lefty callup with Jac Caglianone taking Massey’s spot. Realistically, that’s probably what’s likely to happen—in a few weeks at minimum.

So yeah, it might stink to send Massey down, as he’s been an exemplary teammate and ambassador for the team. But this is a results-based business, and the results have been so poor in such a way that nobody is really benefiting from the reunion right now. I wish it wasn’t the case. I, too, would like Massey to succeed. It’s just not happening.

The Kansas Jayhawks coaching staff has been active on the recruiting trail lately, popping in to watch several players on the AAU circuit.

Per his X page, Bill Self recently offered highly touted 2026 guard Kohl Rosario, a 6-foot-5 sharpshooter attending Moravian Prep in North Carolina.

Rosario is a 4-star recruit and the No. 96 overall player in 247 Sports Composite rankings for the Class of 2026.

An incoming high school senior holding offers from programs like Baylor, Tennessee, and Villanova, Rosario is absolutely killing it in AAU and Overtime Elite tournaments.

In the Nextgen Euroleague Tournament in Abu Dhabi, Rosario recently finished with an incredible 30-point performance for Overtime Elite.

He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field, knocking down all six of his 3-point attempts in a 113-89 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas.

Rosario plays for Team CP3 in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and the YNG Dreamerz in Overtime Elite. He averaged 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Dreamerz this past season.

Kansas is just the latest blue blood to enter Rosario’s recruitment. Duke reportedly reached out to him last week, which makes sense given his location.

A versatile combo guard, Rosario is a dangerous shooter from beyond the arc and possesses exceptional traits on the defensive end.

All eyes in Lawrence are on top-ranked recruit Tyran Stokes, but KU recently contacted under-the-radar prospects like Rosario, Jahda Swann, Trey Thompson, and others.

Considering the Jayhawks are without a commitment in their 2026 recruiting class, Rosario could be a player worth watching moving forward.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – The Kansas Highway Patrol was on the scene of a rollover crash Sunday that was attributed to the rain-covered roadways.

The crash happened at 11:44 p.m. on May 25 as six people in a 2012 Nissan Quest were driving south on Interstate 635. Just past State Avenue, the driver lost control in the slick conditions and ran off the right side of the road, causing the vehicle to overturn.

By the time emergency crews arrived, all six occupants were outside the vehicle. The driver and passengers included two adults, two children and two teens. One of the teens was believed to have suffered minor injuries and was taken to Children’s Mercy, but the rest were reportedly uninjured.

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