Witt Jr. (knee) not in starting lineup Friday

All things considered, that’s very encouraging news. He’ll miss Friday and Saturday’s games at a minimum before being re-evaluated on Sunday, though the Royals are hopeful he’ll be able to avoid a trip to the injured list. Fantasy managers should be able to breathe a major sigh of relief here.

Aside from that, the Royals’ skipper didn’t have any updates to provide on the status of his franchise cornerstone. It’s possible that they’re just taking every possible precaution here, but fantasy managers should at least prepare for the fact that they could be without Witt for at least the weekend, if not longer.

That was the thought when he left the field, so nothing new from the update as Witt heads for further evaluation. Expect Royals’ skipper Matt Quatraro to have more information when he talks to the media following the conclusion of Thursday’s game.

The 26-year-old superstar fielded a ground ball in the fourth inning and landed awkwardly on his right knee. He was able to walk it off and remain in the game for the time being but was lifted for a pinch hitter the following half inning. He’ll head for further evaluation. Expect the Royals to provide an update on his status as soon as more information is known. All fantasy managers can do at the moment is wait and hope for the best.

All of Witt’s hits were singles, but one of them knocked in a run in the fifth inning, and he was also able to swipe a base. The Royals’ offensive struggles have hurt his counting stat production, but Witt is having another strong season with a .290/.364/.454 slash line to go along with the 27 steals and 29 RBI.

The two thefts make Witt the new league leader, one ahead of Nasim Nuñez and two ahead of José Ramírez. J-Ram will miss time, and the next-highest total is 21, so Witt has a chance to run away with the stolen base title if he’s up for it. The superstar shortstop entered Sunday with a 4.6 percent stolen base attempt rate, well above the clip he’s run at the past two years. It isn’t as high as the 5.5 percent mark he had in 2023, but Witt’s superior on-base skills are giving him more total opportunities compared to that year. He could be headed for the first 50-steal season of his career after topping out at 49 in 2023.

Isbel was 1-for-2 with a walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Tyler Tolbert in the seventh inning.

Salvador Perez (thumb) and Jac Caglianone (shoulder) are also back in Kansas City’s lineup after missing time over the weekend. The Royals made the decision to pull Witt from Sunday’s series finale after his right knee soreness got worse during the contest, but he appears to have checked out fine after undergoing further evaluation. The 25-year-old franchise cornerstone has the green light to return, which is a massive relief for the Royals and fantasy managers as well.

It sounds like a day-to-day situation for Witt, so he probably ought to be left active by those who have to make weekly decisions tonight. If he can’t go on Tuesday, then Maikel Garcia will likely play short, opening up third for Josh Rojas or Nick Loftin.

There was nothing obvious in the game that might have caused this, so it might be a lingering issue. Michael Massey replaced him in the game against the Twins, and Maikel Garcia shifted to shortstop. Josh Rojas would probably see a lot of action at third if Witt needed to go on the IL.