The Kansas City Royals activated shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, restoring their top player to the active roster for the start of a homestand against the Minnesota Twins.
Witt, 26, had been out since experiencing back spasms in a July 20 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The move marks the end of the first injured list stint of his five-year major league career.
The three-time All-Star returns with a .279 batting average, 13 home runs and 39 RBIs across 94 games. He also owns 103 hits and 51 runs scored while pacing the American League with 30 stolen bases.
Manager Matt Quatraro had outlined a careful return timeline last week while the club finished a road trip in Denver.
“He went through a full workout today,” Quatraro said. “We’re going to put him through another full one tomorrow (Saturday). We anticipate him playing when we get back home.”
Quatraro emphasized patience given the high altitude and an available off day.
“We just want to be cautious,” he said. “He feels good. He’s literally progressed every day, and we could have pushed him. But he wasn’t very likely to play in all the games here, so we figured with the off day on Monday, let’s take the cautious route and have him ready to full go on Tuesday.”
Witt earlier described the severity of the issue that forced him off the field.
“It’s just kind of one of those things where the type of way I play, I couldn’t be myself out there,” Witt said. “And I couldn’t even be 50% of myself.”
In corresponding roster moves, the Royals recalled right-hander Jose Cuas from Triple-A Omaha. They also designated left-hander Matt Strahm and shortstop Andrew Velazquez for assignment.
Cuas, 32, has posted a 2.84 ERA with no decisions in five relief outings for Kansas City this season.Strahm, 34, is 3-4 with a 7.32 ERA in 41 appearances. The former All-Star owns a career 3.61 ERA across 436 games with four organizations since 2016.
Velazquez, who joined the club in late June, hit .067 with one stolen base in six games after his selection from Omaha.
Witt had avoided the injured list earlier this year despite missing six games with a mild right knee sprain in June. His consistent availability had been a hallmark until the back tightness developed.
The Royals enter the series against Minnesota looking to stabilize a season that has left them near the bottom of the American League Central. Witt’s presence in the lineup immediately upgrades both the offense and defense at a premium position.
He is expected to resume his regular role at shortstop and in the middle of the batting order. The club will monitor his workload closely in the early stages of the return.
Witt’s activation comes after a measured ramp-up that included full workouts and steady daily improvement reported by the team. The focus now shifts to how quickly he can regain his pre-injury form.
