The star shortstop left Sunday's game in the 7th inning with knee soreness.
Sunday's win in Minnesota came at a price for the Kansas City Royals.
When Bobby Witt Jr. headed to the dugout in the seventh inning and didn't return, it marked the first time this season Kansas City had been forced to finish a game without its everyday shortstop. Witt had started each of the club's first 66 games before right knee soreness prompted his early exit from the Royals' 6-5 victory over the Twins.
Even then, Witt admitted afterward that he probably waited longer than he should have before bringing the issue to the team's attention.
"It was just aching all this morning," Witt told Anne Rogers of MLB.com. "Thought I could get through today. Just kind of felt the pressure throughout [the game]. It was on my mind as I played."
That admission might be the most revealing part of the situation.
Witt has built a reputation as one of baseball's most durable everyday players, the type who typically plays through bumps and bruises without much discussion. The fact that the discomfort lingered long enough to affect both his performance and his decision-making during the game suggests the Royals were dealing with something more than a fleeting annoyance, even if they remain optimistic about the outcome.
Sunday was an unusually rough afternoon by Witt's standards. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and committed a rare defensive error that contributed to Minnesota's first run.
Manager Matt Quatraro told reporters postgame that the soreness appeared to worsen as the game progressed rather than stemming from any specific play.
"The only thing he said was that long at-bat, which was in the third, he started to feel it more because it's his right knee," Quatraro told reporters, via MLB.com. "As he was loading and kept taking swing after swing, he started to feel it more at that point."
That explanation aligns with the encouraging part of the update.
Quatraro also said postgame that the Royals do not believe the issue is structural and described it as more of a usage-related problem than an injury caused by trauma. Kansas City also benefits from timing. Monday's off day gave Witt an immediate opportunity to rest before the Royals open a three-game series against the Rangers.
Witt himself sounded unconcerned. "I've dealt with it before," he told Rogers.
Kansas City's margin for error has been thin all season, and no player carries a larger share of the workload than Witt. He has appeared in every game while producing a .280/.354/.456 slash line with nine home runs and 23 stolen bases. Those 23 steals are tied for the Major League lead alongside José Ramírez and Nasim Nuñez.
The Royals have listed Witt as day-to-day on the injury report as they prepare to open up the Rangers series. But knowing Witt, there's no way he takes the day off if the knee issue truly isn't serious.
