{"id":597572,"date":"2026-02-28T06:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/597572\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T06:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:06:15","slug":"kansas-city-royals-matt-quatraro-shares-reason-for-bobby-witt-jr-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/597572\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Royals\u2019 Matt Quatraro Shares Reason for Bobby Witt Jr. Move"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/royals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Kansas City Royals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Kansas City Royals<\/a> are continuing to fine\u2011tune their lineup during spring training, and one of the most notable developments involves where their best player will hit. As the team prepares for the upcoming season, manager Matt Quatraro is already experimenting with ways to maximize offensive production, particularly when it comes to superstar Bobby Witt Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Witt is not only the face of the franchise but one of the top players in baseball just four years into his career. A two\u2011time All\u2011Star, two\u2011time Gold Glove winner, two\u2011time Silver Slugger, batting champion and Platinum Glove recipient, he has established himself as one of the most complete players in the sport.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, Witt delivered another elite season, hitting .295 with a .351 on\u2011base percentage and an .852 OPS. He added 23 home runs, 88 RBIs and 38 stolen bases across 157 games while leading MLB in hits with 184 and doubles with 47.<\/p>\n<p>With that level of production, where Witt hits in the lineup carries major significance for the Royals\u2019 offensive outlook and Quatraro is considering making a change, potentially bumping Witt to the leadoff spot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBobby Witt Jr. is hitting leadoff today. Manager Matt Quatraro said he&#8217;s \u2018pretty sure\u2019 Witt is going to hit leadoff for Team USA, so he wanted to let Witt get used to it before he leaves. Also gives the Royals an idea of what it could look like if they do it in the regular season,\u201d reported Anne Rogers of MLB.com on X.<\/p>\n<p>The decision reflects both short\u2011term and long\u2011term thinking. In the immediate future, Witt is preparing to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, where he is expected to hit leadoff in a lineup loaded with star talent. Getting comfortable in that role now allows him to adjust his approach before facing elite international competition.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, this experiment could have lasting implications for Kansas City. Moving Witt to the leadoff spot would guarantee their most dynamic offensive player receives the most plate appearances over the course of a season. His combination of speed, contact ability and emerging power makes him an ideal candidate to set the tone at the top of the order.<\/p>\n<p>For a Royals team looking to take a step forward, finding ways to maximize Witt\u2019s impact is essential. If he thrives in the leadoff role during both the World Baseball Classic and spring training, it could become a permanent change that reshapes the team\u2019s offensive identity heading into 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Royals are continuing to fine\u2011tune their lineup during spring training, and one of the most&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2387],"tags":[26504,5,3398,1351,936,2123,55,2596,2595,2602,4,14325,252],"class_list":["post-597572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-royals","tag-anne-rogers","tag-baseball","tag-bobby-witt","tag-bobby-witt-jr","tag-kansas","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascityroyals","tag-matt-quatraro","tag-mlb","tag-quatraro","tag-royals"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116146758095695834","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}