Bobby Witt Jr. left Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins with right knee soreness, giving the Kansas City Royals a late-game scare around the most important player in their organization.
Witt was replaced defensively after the top of the seventh inning at Target Field. Michael Massey entered at second base, Maikel Garcia moved to shortstop, and Nick Loftin shifted to third, which effectively removed Witt from the game after he struck out swinging in the seventh.
Kansas City will likely treat Witt as day-to-day until the club provides a fuller update. The key questions now are whether the soreness requires imaging, whether he is available off the bench Monday, and whether the Royals simply buy him a rest day after finishing the series in Minnesota.
Witt had entered Sunday as the engine of a Royals team trying to carry momentum out of the weekend. He delivered the go-ahead RBI single in Saturday’s 3-2 comeback win, with manager Matt Quatraro pointing to the top of the order as the portion of the lineup Kansas City wants deciding games.
For fantasy managers and bettors, Witt should be treated as a hold-your-breath day-to-day case until Kansas City says more. Any absence would push Garcia into shortstop duty, keep Massey in the infield mix, and remove the Royals’ cleanest combination of contact, power, speed, and run creation from the top of the order.
