KC Royals get Bobby Witt Jr.’s bat back in lineup vs. Yankees day after Perez’s return
The Kansas City Royals added star catcher Salvador Perez back to the lineup Friday night, and they continued to bolster their batting order with the return of rookie phenom Bobby Witt Jr. on Saturday.
Witt, the 22-year-old potential future face of the franchise, hadn’t played since he left last Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays after the first inning due to hamstring tightness.
Witt progressively took part in more activity on the field during pregame workouts this week, and Saturday he returned to the lineup as the designated hitter and batting second.
“It’s been just getting better each and every day,” Witt said prior to Saturdays’ game. “So that’s kind of what we’ve been doing, getting all the treatment and taking it day by day. I’ve just been champing at the bit, so now I’m ready to get back going.”
Perez similarly served as the DH for his first game back off the injured list.
“We put together a routine or program,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Just like with Salvy yesterday, we’ll start by DH-ing and still try to control some of the effort. Hopefully, that will translate into some time on the field here at shortstop soon.”
Maikel Garcia, called up from Double-A Northwest Arkansas before Thursday’s series opener, started his third consecutive game at shortstop for the Royals.
Witt has hit safely in 14 of 16 games since July 4, and he’d batted .369 with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs and eight stolen bases during that stretch.
Witt entered play on Saturday tied for the lead among all major-league rookies in doubles (19) and also among the leaders in extra-base hits (second, 38), runs (second, 51) and steals (second, 20), hits (third, 91), and home runs (tied for third, 14).
Witt was also tied for the MLB lead in average sprint speed (30.4 feet/second) this season.
Asked if he had any specific hurdles he wanted to clear in order to know he was ready to return, Witt said, “I just want to be able to make sure I’m kind of myself, being able to not try and change things. Just go out there and play.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2022 at 12:36 PM.