Bobby Witt Jr. (back) not in Tuesday’s lineup

This felt inevitable after Witt Jr. missed Sunday’s game with a back injury, then returned on Monday, only to leave that game early. The Royals have the second-worst record in the American League and are not in playoff contention, so they will likely be cautious with their star shortstop, especially when dealing with a back injury. We may not see Witt Jr. back for a few weeks. Tyler Tolbert will likely continue to play shortstop in his place.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters prior to Tuesday’s game that Witt is pretty stiff as he continues to deal with lower back tightness. It sounds like Kansas City is going to give him some time off to see if his condition improves before making a decision on whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Fantasy managers should continue to check back in on his status for the remainder of the week.

It’s the same back issue that forced Witt to miss Sunday’s game against San Diego. He exited in the fourth inning after going 0-for-1 with a walk and was replaced at shortstop by Nick Loftin. The Royals should provide another update on his status after the game. Back injuries have a tendency to linger, making this a situation fantasy managers will want to monitor closely throughout the rest of the week.

Witt is back at shortstop and hitting second after being held out of Sunday’s series finale against the Padres for precautionary reasons due to back tightness. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone doesn’t appear to be at risk of missing additional time, but back issues can be tricky matters. Fantasy managers should closely monitor his status for the next couple days.

The 26-year-old superstar really didn’t get much of a break while playing in the All-Star Game, so he’ll get a breather on Sunday. Tyler Tolbert will start in his place at shortstop and will hit eighth for the Royals against Padres’ right-hander German Marquez.

It was Witt’s 13th home run and 39th RBI of the season. The 26-year-old is slashing a solid .288/.359/.464 on the season, but the struggles of the lineup around him have really dampened his counting stat upside. There’s nothing you can do in fantasy leagues other than put him into your lineup.

Pasquantino suffered a hamate bone fracture on June 13th. He began his rehab assignment on Monday, and it sounds like the Royals don’t need to see much more from him. If Pasquantino does return this weekend, that would push Jac Caglianone back to the outfield, which would likely mean the end of regular playing time for Tyler Tolbert.

Yeah, Tyler Tolbert. He went 2-for-2 before being lifted from Saturday’s game, didn’t play Sunday, went 5-for-5 with a homer and a double (his first two extra-base hits of the season) on Monday and started off 5-for-5 with another homer and three infield singles tonight. Just the homers in back-to-back games is surprising enough from Tolbert. He was without a homer in his previous 49 games between Triple-A and the majors this season. He had four in 129 minor league games in 2024 and four in 93 games between Triple-A and the majors last season. Before going 2-for-2 on Saturday, he was hitting .200 in 35 major league at-bats this season. He’s now at .396. He also has 10 steals after getting one tonight. Tolbert probably won’t keep hitting, but he is an elite basestealer and the Royals figure to give him regular playing time for at least a little while after this surge. Those needing steals could do worse.

The Tyler Tolbert Game. The Royals’ speedy utilityman came into the day with no extra-base hits and one RBI in 43 plate appearances this season. Even in Triple-A, he totaled just two extra-base hits in 20 games. All three of his singles today were softly hit, but he got up to 96.5 mph of exit velocity on his double. His homer left the bat at 94 mph, but it carried 376 feet to left anyway. The Royals had Tolbert at shortstop with Bobby Witt Jr. DHing today. He mostly plays against lefties, but the Royals will probably make an exception and start him no matter who the Mets throw against the on Tuesday.

Witt smacked a two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the third, and clobbered a solo homer in the eighth inning that went an estimated 432 feet in the eighth. He has now homered a dozen times in 2026, and three of those came in a solid — if unspectacular based on Witt’s abilities — month of June. He’s as good as it gets at the shortstop position, and fantasy managers should expect similar to better production from the 26-year-old in the second half of the campaign.