Kansas City Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has been placed on the IL for the first time in his career.
He was put on the 10-day IL with lower back tightness on Wednesday after he left Monday's game against the San Diego Padres and did not play Tuesday with the back issue. His stint was retroactive to Tuesday, July 21st, making his eligible to return on Friday, July 31st at the earliest.
Witt Jr., 26, is in the middle of the fifth season of his spectacular, and healthy, career. He's played a minimum of 150 games in every season so far and has been consistent with the bat and in the field for all of those years.
He leads the AL in stolen bases (30) and bWAR (4.9) despite having his worst offensive season from a production standpoint since his rookie year. Overall, he's slashing .279/.350/.450 with 13 home runs while having the best glove at the shortstop position.
"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, per ESPN. "And I couldn't even be 50% of myself."
The Royals, 43-60, have won three in a row but are in the midst of a disaster season after having some expectations coming into the year. Losing their shortstop that has contributed in a major way doesn't help their cause.
In response to putting Witt Jr. on the 10-day, Kansas City called up infielder Andrew Velazquez from Triple-A Omaha.
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