The Kansas City Royals suffered a major injury scare on Thursday when Bobby Witt Jr.left in the middle of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Witt landed hard on his right knee while fielding a ground ball in the top of the fourth inning, and was replaced by Tyler Tolbert in the bottom half of the frame. The Royals later announced that Witt left with right knee discomfort, and that he would have imaging after the game.
On Friday, Apple TV reporter Tricia Whitaker revealed that Witt has a grade 1 MCL sprain. However, the Royals are optimistic about their shortstop's status, with manager Matt Quatraro calling it the "best-case scenario", per Whitaker. Kansas City will re-evaluate Witt on Sunday; he will be out of the lineup on Friday, but no move to the injured list is expected at the moment.
Not much has gone right for the Royals this season, but saying Witt has been a bright spot would be an understatement. After emerging as one of the best players in all of baseball in 2024, the 26-year-old has maintained that form and is currently a frontrunner for the AL MVP award. Witt's 4.5 fWAR is the best in MLB, as he combines Platinum Glove-caliber defense with a .294/.368/.465 slash line, 10 home runs and a major league-leading 28 stolen bases.
With that incredible all-around play in mind, the Royals would suffer a devastating blow if Witt were to miss significant time. Kansas City is currently 31-45 and 6.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Fortunately, it appears that Witt's injury isn't too serious and he should be good to go after a weekend of rest. After a 14-6 win over the Cardinals on Thursday, the Royals will now try to capture the "Show-Me Series" without their franchise talent with a win either tonight or Sunday.
