Bobby Witt Jr.’s right knee injury has still not healed enough for him to start for the Royals.
Witt was not in the club’s starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Rays at Tropicana Field, marking the fifth straight game he has been on the bench since suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain during Thursday’s win over the Cardinals.
Witt has gone through on-field drills before each of the past two games against the Rays. Manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday that his star shortstop is feeling better and progressing. He added that while Witt was technically available off the bench during Kansas City’s 12-5 victory, it would have taken “an extreme emergency” for him to get into the game.
Along with Witt, the Royals have been without first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino for the past 10 days due to a fractured bone in his right hand. The team also placed third baseman Maikel Garcia on the injured list Tuesday due to a left hand muscle strain that has bothered him for about a month.
In spite of those injuries, the Royals’ offense has scored the second-most runs (124) and has the fifth-best OPS in the Majors (.810) during the month of June.