Royals All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has 3 hits in his return from back injury

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits and drove in two runs for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night in his return from a back injury that cost him 11 games.

The Royals activated Witt from the injured list earlier Tuesday, and manager Matt Quatraro said he would be mindful of Witt’s workload in the coming days.

For one night, at least, Witt appeared in fine form.

Batting second, he singled in the first inning, singled again in the third and hit a two-run double in the fifth to give Kansas City a 4-1 lead over Minnesota. He finished 3 for 5 in the Royals’ 8-2 win.

“Tough three hits,” Quatraro said. “The two-run double was huge, obviously, to expand there, get a little bit of breathing room.”

Witt said he was eager to return as quickly as possible.

“Even after the first game, I wasn’t feeling great, but I was always wanting to get back in there,” Witt said. “I’m definitely chomping at the bit to put it together and work with the training staff.”

A three-time All-Star, Witt leads the American League with 30 stolen bases. He is batting .283 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs in 95 games.

Before the game, Quatraro said Witt may not be in the lineup every day as he works his way back from the injury.

“A lot of it is going to depend on the volume of the game,” Quatraro said. “We’ll look at game times, and workloads and temperature and all those kinds of things and communicate with him and see how he feels.”

Avila and Kolek to have Tommy John and Royals make several moves

Also Tuesday, Quatraro said right-handers Luinder Avila (5-4, 5.53 ERA) and Stephen Kolek (4-3, 4.50 ERA) would undergo Tommy John surgery this week.

The Royals made several roster moves, recalling right-hander Jose Cuas from Triple-A Omaha and claiming lefty Connor Thomas off waivers from the Athletics. They also designated shortstop Andrew Velazquez and left-hander Matt Strahm for assignment.

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Cuas, 32, has a 2.84 ERA in five relief appearances for the Royals this season.

Thomas, 28, was claimed off waivers by the Athletics on July 30 and designated for assignment last Saturday. Before joining the Athletics, Thomas made two relief appearances across two major league stints for Atlanta.

Strahm, 34, is 3-4 with a 7.32 ERA in 41 appearances for Kansas City. Velazquez signed with Kansas City on June 24 and went 1 for 15 in six games.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb