CLEVELAND -- As shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. returned to the lineup Tuesday night following three consecutive days recovering from back spasms that had him exit Friday’s game early, the Royals had other injury news to share before their game against the Guardians at Progressive Field.
Starter Michael Wacha was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list (retroactive to Monday) and will not make his scheduled start on Wednesday in Cleveland. In a corresponding move, second baseman Jonathan India (left wrist sprain) was reinstated off the 10-day IL and was in the lineup at DH, batting seventh.
“[Wacha] had an off-field accident that resulted in a concussion,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Nothing overly serious, we don’t think, but something that’s going to keep him from pitching a minimum of seven days. So he’ll go back to Kansas City and get evaluated by the doctors.”
Quatraro did not disclose exactly how Wacha sustained the concussion beyond saying it was an off-field accident. The further evaluation back in Kansas City will help determine the severity and whether Wacha will miss more than the seven days required for a stay on the concussion list.
The Royals announced after their 2-0 loss to the Guardians on Tuesday night that right-hander Jonathan Bowlan will start Wednesday in what is likely a bullpen game. Kansas City is in the midst of a 13-game stretch without an off-day, and the relievers have covered a lot of innings lately. But Noah Cameron’s seven-inning outing Tuesday gives the Royals a rested bullpen for Wednesday.
Wacha has been the Royals’ most consistent starter this year, with a 3.45 ERA across 28 starts and 159 innings. But his first IL stint of the season means four of the five starters Kansas City opened the season with are currently on the IL, as he joins Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo (low back strain) and Kris Bubic (left rotator cuff strain). The club’s fifth starter, Michael Lorenzen, missed time in July this year with an oblique strain. Ragans and Lugo are expected back this season; Ragans is scheduled for his second rehab outing on Friday in Triple-A Omaha, and Lugo has resumed his throwing progression since being shut down last week. But Bubic is out for the year.
It has been an injury-riddled year for Kansas City, but the club was grateful on Tuesday to at least have Witt back in the lineup. The 25-year-old hadn’t missed two or more consecutive games since he was a rookie in 2022 and missed five games with a hamstring injury. Witt exited Friday’s game against the Twins with low back spasms but started feeling better Monday, resuming baseball activity.
He went through a full pregame workout on Tuesday, including hitting, and felt good enough to get back on the field.
“He woke up feeling better,” Quatraro said. “I can’t say how much better. But he was confident in how he felt. We put a lot of trust in him and telling us what he felt like and whether he could play. He did all his pregame stuff early to make sure he was going to be good, and he said he hit, threw, ran, so he feels ready to go.”
With Wacha off the active roster and India back on, the Royals are carrying 15 position players and 13 pitchers. India missed the minimum 10 days with a left wrist sprain, which he had been battling for several weeks before going on the IL. He received a cortisone injection on Aug. 31 but began his return-to-play progression within a few days and was able to participate in the full pregame workout on Monday before he was activated on Tuesday.