CLEVELAND -- Bobby Witt Jr. was out of the Royals’ lineup for the third consecutive game as the club’s series against the Guardians began on Monday night at Progressive Field, but the shortstop feels much improved following the back spasms that led to an early exit on Friday against the Twins.
Witt participated in some baseball activity Monday afternoon in Cleveland -- running, throwing and some defensive glove work. He ran at “pretty much 100 percent,” manager Matt Quatraro said. Witt had yet to take any swings as the Royals went through their team pregame work before the series opener, but that’s the next step.
“We’re going to see how he feels as the day progresses after that activity,” Quatraro said pregame. “There’s an outside chance he’s available for some sort of game action today, but if not, we’re very encouraged that he’ll play sooner rather than later.”
Witt wasn’t needed in the Royals’ 10-2 loss to the Guardians, with the game out of hand by the fourth inning. Kansas City would have likely only used Witt in a pinch-running situation in a tight game -- and only if he felt good enough to get back on the field.
The Royals will evaluate how Witt recovers on Tuesday to determine whether he can get back in the lineup.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the injury occurred, Witt said he’s felt “better every day since.” It happened in the top of the sixth inning, when he fielded a grounder and threw across his body. He said he felt a “sharp kind of pain in the lower right side of my back,” and when he had to make another play that inning, he couldn’t catch his breath.
“I’ve never taken myself ever out of the game, and I still didn’t really,” Witt said. “But just the way I was on the bench at that time, I think [head athletic trainer Kyle Turner] saw me, and they took me out. It sucks. But now it’s trying to get back to where I can go out and help the team.”
This stretch of three games is the first time Witt has been out of the starting lineup for consecutive games since his rookie year, when he missed four straight from July 25-29, 2022, with a right hamstring injury.
Witt had appeared in 139 of the Royals’ 143 games this year entering Monday. He does not like sitting -- and the club needs him in the lineup every day -- but he also knows he needs to be as healthy as he can be this late in the season as Kansas City attempts to hunt down a postseason spot.
“This point in the season, everyone has bumps and bruises,” Witt said. “It’s one of those things where I’m ready to get back out there, but I’m trying to be smart. … It’s probably [one] of the worst things I’ve ever went through, but now I’m just blessed to be in this situation that I’m going to be in, able to be ready to get back soon.”