Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was diagnosed with a Grade 1 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Manager Matt Quatraro said Witt will miss the Friday, June 19 game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, with a reevaluation set for
Bobby Witt Jr. didn’t have to hear the diagnosis to know something was wrong—he just had to feel it.
The Kansas City Royals franchise player, and a two-time All-Star, suffered a Grade 1 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Kansas City.
Quatraro said Witt will not play in the team’s game Friday, June 19 against the St. Louis Cardinals. With the Royals off Saturday, the shortstop will be reevaluated Sunday, Quatraro added. While Witt appeared to avoid more severe injury, Quatraro acknowledged a stint on the injured list is a possibility.
“It’s not a surgical thing,” Quatraro said, per MLB.com. “It’s going to be a lot of get the swelling out of there and understand how he feels. And those conversations are going to have to be honest between all of us.”
The injury happened Thursday, June 18 against St. Louis at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. Witt hurt the knee fielding an infield single in the top of the fourth inning. He stayed in the game. but the Royals pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the inning and announced he was removed due to right knee discomfort. He then underwent further imaging.
For a player who is leading the major leagues with 28 stolen bases, the timeline matters. Witt was on his way to a third consecutive All-Star appearance. and through this season he has been producing at a high level: batting .290 with nine homers and an .815 OPS. He has also won the past two American League Gold Gloves at shortstop.
The contract adds another layer to the stakes for Kansas City. Witt, 26, has a 4.2 WAR tied for first among AL players and is in the third year of an 11-year, $288 million contract. He can opt out of the deal between 2031 and 2034.
The injury is arriving while the Royals are trying to find traction. They entered play Friday, June 19 with a 31-45 record and in fourth place in the AL Central.
With Sunday’s reevaluation set to determine what comes next. the immediate question for Kansas City is straightforward: how quickly can the swelling settle and how reliably can Witt move—because the Royals’ lineup has been built around a player who has rarely looked off-speed. even as the injury forced a pause in his season momentum.
Bobby Witt Jr. Royals knee injury medial collateral ligament Grade 1 sprain Matt Quatraro St. Louis Cardinals Kauffman Stadium injured list stolen bases MLB
Grade 1 sounds minor but why is he already out? baseball injuries always get weird.
Matt Quatraro said it’s not surgical which is good? But I swear Royals always have someone tweaking something right when they start to get a little momentum. Also he was still in the game after it happened?? makes me nervous for the rest of his season.
So he sprained his knee fielding and then pinch-hit for him… that’s basically like a concussion protocol in football lol. If he’s leading in stolen bases then this is like, automatically the end of their offense right? I don’t follow, but sounds bad.
31-45 and now Witt’s hurt… that’s just classic. I thought Grade 1 medial collateral ligament is literally the “minor” injury but they’re acting like it could land him on the IL? And he stayed in the game, so maybe it was actually worse and they just waited? idk. $288 million and he can’t even play one Cardinals game??