AL MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. is dealing with a Grade 1 sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. Witt is not available for tonight’s game against the Cardinals. There’s a rare Saturday off day tomorrow because Kansas City will host a World Cup match between Ecuador and Curacao in the evening.
Anne Rogers of MLB.com writes that Witt will be reevaluated before Sunday afternoon’s series finale. Manager Matt Quatraro tells Rogers there’s no fear the injury would require surgical repair, but an injured list stint may be necessary depending on the amount of inflammation.
Witt suffered the injury while making a diving stop on a ground-ball off the bat of Jordan Walker last night. He wheeled and tried to throw to second for a force out but tweaked his knee. Witt stayed in through the end of the defensive inning but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half.
Kansas City is without their entire Opening Day infield for tonight’s game. Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a hamate fracture last week and will be out beyond the All-Star Break. Jonathan India underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in April. Witt and Maikel Garcia are both day to day, with the latter out since Tuesday due to a muscle strain in his left hand.
Jac Caglianone and Michael Massey are the regular duo on the right side of the infield. The day-to-day injuries on the left side draw Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert into tonight’s lineup at third base and shortstop, respectively. Isaac Collins can move into the infield on an emergency basis, but it’s certainly not ideal to only have Starling Marte and Kameron Misner available off the bench.
Injured list stints can be retroactive by a maximum of three days, so the Royals might make a decision on Garcia during the off day. They may wait until Monday to make that call on Witt, as they could backdate that placement to today.
Kansas City already has an uphill battle to pulling back into the Wild Card picture. They’re 14 games under .500 and fourth from the bottom in the American League. The Royals got Seth Lugo back from a brief stay on the concussion list tonight but are still down two of their top starters in Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic. They’ve been a slightly below-average offense despite Witt turning in a .294/.368/.465 line with 10 homers and MLB-high 28 stolen bases.
