The Kansas City Royals received a boost as shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and second baseman Jonathan India returned to the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. However, the team also announced that right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha was placed on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion.

Witt's return comes after he missed three games due to lower back spasms. The 25-year-old All-Star had to leave Friday's game against the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning because of the issue. Before his injury, Witt had played in 139 of the Royals' 144 games this season, batting .294 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs. Manager Matt Quatraro said that Witt participated in running and fielding drills before Monday's game in Cleveland and reported no issues. Witt, a key player for the Royals, was the runner-up for American League Most Valuable Player in 2024. He missed only one game in the 2024 season. In Witt's absence, Maikel Garcia has been filling in at shortstop.

Jonathan India was also activated from the 10-day injured list. The 28-year-old had been sidelined since August 29 with a left wrist sprain. Before the injury, India was batting .232 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. In Tuesday's game against Cleveland, India was the designated hitter, batting seventh.

Michael Wacha's placement on the injured list is retroactive to Monday. The team has not released any further details regarding the circumstances of Wacha's concussion. The 34-year-old right-hander has a 9-11 record with a 3.45 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 159 innings this season. According to MLB.com, Wacha was scheduled to start on Wednesday but sustained a concussion from a minor off-field accident and was returning to Kansas City for further evaluation.

These roster moves come as Kansas City and Cleveland are in a tight race for a postseason spot. The Guardians moved ahead of the Royals into second place in the AL Central with a 10-2 victory on Monday. The Guardians have a 73-70 record, while the Royals are 73-71.

In other news, Cleveland Guardians reliever Nick Sandlin was placed on the 15-day injured list in June of 2024 due to lower back inflammation. As of July 4th, 2024, Sandlin was activated from the 15-day injured list. He had one rehab appearance with Triple-A Columbus, allowing one walk in a scoreless inning of work. However, in a more recent update, Sandlin has been moved to the 60-day IL by the Toronto Blue Jays due to elbow inflammation. He has been sidelined since July 7th. Sandlin received an injection to reduce the inflammation and aimed to resume throwing, but his throwing program was paused due to discomfort.