The Kansas City Royals franchise has been on an upward trend in recent years as it posted back-to-back above-.500 seasons (2024, 2025) for the first time in a decade (2014, 2015). Making it three seasons in a row above-.500 is going to prove to be a tall order as the Royals own a 45-62 on the 2026 MLB season and reside in the basement of the American League Central.
Adding to Kansas City’s misery is the fact that their best player, Bobby Witt Jr, is currently on the shelf. Below, we will deliver a Witt Jr injury update, and look at potential return dates.
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Bobby Witt Jr injury update: When will Royals shortstop be back?
Witt Jr has been remarkably durable during his five-year MLB career as he has played in 150 games or more in each of those seasons. The three-time All-Star landed on the injured list for the first time last week as he is dealing with back tightness.
“It’s just kind of one of those things where the type of way I play, I couldn’t be myself out there and I couldn’t even be 50 percent of myself,” Witt said. “So it was just one of those things where it sucks.
“I think anytime you can recover, but I’m also going to be kind of trying to get everything right. First time on IL, so I’m not trying to benefit from any of that, but also I’m just trying to make sure I’m ready to go out and help the team.”
Witt Jr is believed to have a minor back strain. If the Royals were in a heated playoff race down the stretch of the regular season, or if Kansas City was involved in a playoff series, it’s likely that Witt Jr would try and play through this injury. Given that it is late July, however, and the Royals are stuck in neutral, Kansas City is proceeding with caution.
The franchise shortstop is eligible to return on July 31, but it is likely that Kansas City gives him a few extra days to recover fully. Witt Jr. has started to ramp up baseball activity in Kansas City, according to MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, so a prolonged stint on the IL is unlikely.
MLB teams typically like their returning players to come back while the team is at home, so a return at the start of the Royals’ next home stand on Tuesday, August 4 against the Minnesota Twins makes a lot of sense. Kansas City will play at the Colorado Rockies this weekend.
Here is a look at the Royals schedule around the time that Witt Jr is expected to be back in the lineup.
- Friday, July 31: Royals at Rockies
- Saturday, August 1: Royals at Rockies
- Sunday, August 2: Royals at Rockies
- Tuesday, August 4: Twins at Royals
- Wednesday, August 5: Twins at Royals
- Thursday, August 6: Twins at Royals
- Friday, August 7: Cubs at Royals
Bobby Witt Jr odds
Witt Jr is having a relatively down year as he is hitting .279 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 96 games played. The Colleyville, Texas native peaked in 2024 when he bashed 32 home runs and drove in 109 runs while hitting .332.
He currently has +3500 AL MVP odds at Fanatics Sportsbook. Only Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, Ben Rice, and Nick Kurtz have shorter odds.
Witt Jr began the season with the second-best AL MVP odds at +450, trailing only Aaron Judge.
Royals odds
The Royals are currently 9.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot and are 11 games out of first place in the AL Central. Kansas City is a whopping +30000 to win the division, and is +50000 to win the World Series.
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