Royals Injury Update: Bobby Witt Jr. progressing well, Steven Cruz rehab assignment

After losing in miserable fashion on Monday night against the Cleveland Guardians, the Kansas City Royals' uphill battle to reach the postseason got a little bit steeper.

Adding to the adversity of their current Wild Card race, the Royals have been playing without some key members of their squad this season of late.

News on the injury front though has been trending in the right direction this week after Kansas City received multiple blows last week. Cole Ragans got the week started on the right note and had Royals fans entering Monday with a new sense of optimism following a positive rehab start on Sunday.

And now the Royals have even more positive news for a pair of key injured major leaguers, with Bobby Witt Jr. seemingly on the upswing after suffering back spasms this weekend and Steven Cruz set to start a rehab assignment after an over month-long stint on the injured list.

Royals Injury Update: Bobby Witt Jr. trending in the right direction after back spasms

The news that's had Royals anxious for the past several days has been the status of their superstar in Bobby Witt Jr.

The sparkling shortstop has spent the past three on the bench after exiting Friday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins prematurely due to back spasms.

Before Monday's game, manager Matt Quatraro's delivered his latest update on the status of his franchise cornerstone. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that the Royals' skipper was "encouraged" on how Witt's progressing after participating in some baseball activity .

"We're going to see how he feels as the day progresses after that activity," Quatraro told Rogers. "There's an outside chance he's available for some sort of game action today, but if not, we're very encouraged that he'll play sooner rather than later."

Obviously we know now that Witt didn't end up playing in Monday's game, but giving the ugly scene that Monday's contest turned into, the need to force him back seemed unnecessary given the circumstances.

Witt also shared his thoughts on his current injury too, describing the situation as one of "the worst things [he's] ever went through".

"This point in the season, everyone has bumps and bruises," Witt told Rogers. "It's one of those things where I'm ready to get back out there, but I'm trying to be smart."

Whether or not Witt gets back in for Tuesday's second leg in Cleveland remains to be seen, but Monday's reports are certainly encouraging.

Royals Injury Update: Steven Cruz slated to begin rehab assignment in Triple-A on Tuesday

Moving to the mound, and the Royals recieved news that one of their key relief options is finally set to take a major step in his recovery process.

Steven Cruz, who's been on the 15-day IL since Aug. 3 with a right shoulder impingement, is set to begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, according to a team announcement.

This news follows a series of successful bullpen sessions Cruz has thrown the past few weeks, the most recent coming on Sept. 6.

Cruz has developed into one of Kansas City's most pleasant surprises this season, becoming one of their most reliable bullpen arms.

The 26-year-old righty has thrown to a 3.61 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .205 BAA in 42.1 innings of work across 43 big league appearances this season.