Royals place 2B Michael Massey (back) on 10-day injured list

The Kansas City Royals placed second baseman Michael Massey on the 10-day injured list on Sunday due to low back tightness.

In a corresponding move, the Royals recalled shortstop Nick Loftin from Triple-A Omaha.

Massey homered in the fifth inning of the Royals' 8-1 victory over the host Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. He exited the game in the next inning and did not play Saturday, with the move retroactive to that day.

Massey had missed the start of the season after sustaining a lower back strain in the final week of spring training. He was reinstated from the 10-day IL on April 19.

"It's more of the same, what he has been dealing with since the spring, just some tightness," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Saturday, before the team's transaction. "We're going to have to take his lead on it and manage it. He's feeling better, moving around and exercising, but we're going to have to manage it day to day."

Massey, 26, is hitting .294 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 29 games. He has a .306 on-base percentage, .529 slugging percentage and .835 OPS.

Kansas City selected him in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since making his major league debut in 2022, Massey is batting .242 with 25 homers and 95 RBIs in 210 games.

Loftin, 25, hit .276 (8-for-29) in 13 games with Kansas City this season. He is batting.308 (28-for-91) in 32 career games.

--Field Level Media