Witt Jr. was pulled from Monday's game in the fifth inning and is not in the Royals' starting lineup on Tuesday.
When the Kansas City Royals rolled out Bobby Witt Jr. in the starting lineup in Monday's game against the San Francisco Giants, the hope was that his recent back issues were past him and it would not be an issue in-game.
However, his back tightened up on him once again in the fifth inning, as Nick Loftin defensively replaced him. The Royals announced he had left the game with low back tightness.
Witt Jr. had made two plate appearances and played four innings in the game.
The star shortstop has been dealing with back issues over the past couple of days. He did not play in Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres, and felt some slight tightness there in the prior couple of games.
After sitting on Sunday, Witt Jr. told the team the next day that he felt good enough to play and that the feeling in his back was something he has played through before. He appeared fine until mid-game came around, despite receiving clearance from the Royals’ medical team prior to being slotted into the lineup.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Giants, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that Witt Jr.’s back is “still pretty stiff,” as he is currently dealing with back spasms. As a result, he is considered day-to-day and is not in Tuesday’s starting lineup.
Once Witt Jr.’s back spasms ease up on him, the Royals will figure out the next steps towards his treatment. The team will surely be cautious with their best bat, who was evaluated after his departure from Monday’s game.
Witt Jr. has enjoyed yet another highly productive season so far. His 4.7 fWAR is ranked the fourth best in the league, proving yet again that he is among the game’s elite talents.
He has been indisputable defensively, and at the plate he has been very efficient. Witt Jr. has posted a .279 batting average with an .800 OPS, while stealing 30 bases so far this season, the second-most in the majors.
Despite Witt Jr.'s overall production, Kansas City has continued to sit at the bottom of the league standings, currently owning the third-worst record in the majors.
In the meantime, as the Royals hope Witt Jr.’s absence is short-lived, the team will mix in Loftin and Tyler Tolbert in his place at shortstop. After Loftin replaced Witt Jr. on Monday, the Royals opted to start Tolbert at shortstop on Tuesday, with Loftin starting at third base.
