Since making the Kansas City Royals’ roster out of spring training in 2022, Bobby Witt Jr. has not needed a trip to the injured list.
Though the two-time All-Star shortstop missed his first game of the season Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals due to a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee, the Royals are optimistic Witt will maintain his streak of avoiding the IL.
The Royals and St. Louis Cardinals have the day off Saturday because Ecuador and Curacao are meeting at night at nearby Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. That means Witt gets an extra day to rehab before the Royals need to map out his immediate future.
“We’ll re-evaluate for a timeline on Sunday,” Royals manager Matt Quartaro said Friday. “We’re pretty optimistic. It’s not a surgical thing. I know they can put a brace on it. It will be a lot of, ‘Get the swelling out of there.'”
Witt injured the knee Thursday night when he went into the hole to backhand a hard-hit bouncer by the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker. Witt stopped the ball, but he couldn’t make a throw after landing on his right knee and injuring himself while trying to spin and get a forceout at second.
The Royals removed him from that game, then Witt sat out Friday’s 6-5 win over the Cardinals for his first time out of the lineup since Sept. 8, 2025. It marked just the 23rd game Witt missed since arriving in the bigs.
The 26-year-old has played an average of 156.5 (out of 162) games in each of his four full MLB seasons
Witt leads all American League players with a 4.3 Wins Above Replacement rate as he has racked up a .294/.368/.465 slash line with 10 homers and an MLB-high 28 stolen bases in 76 games. He comfortably leads all AL shortstops in early All-Star voting, making his third consecutive appearance in the game likely.
He also has won two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove. Though Witt leads the major leagues in defense with a 16.4 rating per Fangraphs, the Royals didn’t miss a beat Friday as Tyler Tolbert played a clean shortstop and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly from the No. 9 spot.
Tolbert also played a key role in MLB’s defensive play of the day in the eighth inning. Second baseman Michael Massey dove to the shortstop side of second to make a backhand grab of Ivan Herrera’s hard grounder. He flipped it with his glove to Tolbert, who spun and fired to first baseman Jac Caglianone for the out.
Tolbert figures to stay at shortstop for as long as the Royals need him. Quatraro hopes that need ends Sunday when the Royals host the Cardinals for their series finale.
“(An IL stint) is always a possibility, but I wouldn’t say ‘strong,’ ” Quatraro said. “There’s no reason to handicap it.”
