The Kansas City Royals placed shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on the injured list Wednesday because of lower back tightness, marking the first IL stint of his major league career.
Witt had missed the previous two games with the injury.
Kansas City selected the contract of infielder Andrew Velazquez from Triple-A Omaha and transferred right-hander Stephen Kolek to the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man roster.
Witt has been one of the American League’s top players this season, batting .279 with a .350 on-base percentage, a .450 slugging percentage, 13 home runs and a league-leading 30 stolen bases. He also led the AL with 4.9 wins above replacement and led all major league defenders with 19 outs above average.
Witt recently made his first career start in the All-Star Game, drawing a walk and scoring a run.
The shortstop has played at least 150 games in each of his first four major league seasons and missed only five games last year. He sat out six games earlier this season because of a knee injury but avoided the injured list.
The Royals signed Velazquez to a minor league contract last month. The 32-year-old has played parts of six major league seasons with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Baltimore, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels.
Velazquez has a .189 batting average, .244 on-base percentage and .293 slugging percentage in 275 career games. He last appeared in the majors in 2023, playing 54 games for the Angels.
The switch-hitter began this season in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization before joining Omaha, where he batted .259 with a .328 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging percentage in 18 games. Velazquez has played every defensive position except first base and catcher.
Kolek had been pitching on a rehabilitation assignment with Omaha after spending time away from the team because of a family emergency. He experienced forearm tightness during his Triple-A start July 18.
The Royals are seeking a second opinion to determine the severity of the injury.