Michael Massey (head) not in Wednesday’s lineup

He exited Tuesday’s game with the head injury and will miss most of the next week, at a minimum. Josh Rojas will take his spot on the active roster. Tyler Tolbert could be a sneaky stolen base play if he gets most of the playing time at second base.

Massey was lifted for precautionary reasons after hitting his head when he fell down after making a great throw on the run to retire Nathan Lukes in the fifth inning. He finished 0-for-2 with a walk at the plate. He should be considered day-to-day for now.

Massey singled twice, but the big blow was a solo homer off Ryan Johnson to give Massey his 11th homer of the season. The 28-year-old has put together a competent 2026 campaign with a .271/.301/.442 slash in 325 at-bats. The one thing holding Massey back is a lack of steals — just two this year — but he does help compensate with the pop.

Massey opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 400-foot (103.2-mph EV) solo shot off of Grayson Rodriguez in the second inning. He also came through with a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. With his three-hit attack, the versatile 28-year-old is now hitting .264/.296/.430 with 10 homers, 41 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 337 plate appearances on the year.

Massey delivered the big blow in this game with a solo home run in the seventh inning off newly acquired Twins reliever A.J. Minter to break a 1-1 tie. That was enough to push the Royals to a victory and put starter Noah Cameron in position for a well deserved win. The left-handed Massey doesn’t get many chances against left-handed pitchers, but made the most of this one with his ninth home run of the season.

Tolbert was everywhere in this one. He homered off Joe Ryan in the third inning to break a scoreless tie and scored again during their two-run rally in the fifth inning. He stole a base later on and has made the most of his opportunity to play more with Bobby Witt Jr. on the injured list. In his last seven games spanning nine days, he has two steals, one home run, and four runs scored.

Massey’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Tigers reliever Drew Sommers to put the Royals ahead 5-4 in the eighth inning. Massey had previously entered the game as a pinch hitter once left-hander Tigers starter Framber Valdez was out of the game. The Tigers had the matchup they wanted in the eighth inning with the left-handed Sommers on the mound, but Massey drilled a breaking ball deep into the right field seats. He’s hitting .274 with a .752 OPS and 36 RBI.

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.

No surprise here after Witt exited Monday’s series opener after four innings with lower back tightness. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone has been dealing with the issue for the past few days, and Kansas City is making the sensible decision to give him additional rest rather than risk it becoming a more serious concern. It’ll be speedster Tyler Tolbert getting the nod at shortstop in his place for the second time in the last three games. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale.

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.