Guardians All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with mid-back inflammation, an injury that may have contributed to the leadoff hitter’s second-half slump.

The team also brought up outfielder Myles Straw from Triple-A Columbus before its 4-1 loss to the Twins. Pitcher Carlos Carrasco was designated for assignment.

Kwan’s issue has kept him out of the lineup for the past five games. The move is retroactive to Sept. 14.

Manager Stephen Vogt had been expected to provide a timetable for Kwan’s return before the matchup with Minnesota, but offered only that he was “day to day.” That all changed about 90 minutes before the first pitch.

Kwan has been in a prolonged slide at the plate. After leading MLB with a .352 average at the All-Star break, he’s hitting only .201 in the second half for the AL Central leaders. He missed most of May with a hamstring injury.

Straw is back with the Guardians after being designated for assignment at the end of spring training. He had been Cleveland’s regular center fielder for the past two-plus seasons, winning a Gold Glove in 2022.

Straw’s problem has been his hitting. He batted .238 last season with one homer, 29 RBIs and 20 steals and the Guardians wanted more. The 29-year-old was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline in 2021.

Carrasco was in his second stint with the Guardians after signing with them as a free agent in February. The 37-year-old had spent the previous three seasons in New York with the Mets after being traded in the Francisco Lindor deal.

Witt sets records

The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. became the first shortstop in major league history with multiple seasons of at least 30 homers and 30 steals when the All-Star swiped second base in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers.

Witt finished with three walks in the game, which the Royals lost 3-1 in 10 innings.

“It’s pretty special any time you get to be the first,” Witt said, “but yeah, that’s over now. We’re onto tomorrow.”

The Royals are 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first AL wild-card spot and 1 1/2 ahead of Minnesota for the second.

Witt has 31 homers this season, including a grand slam in the series-opener Monday night, to go with 30 steals. The 24-year-old superstar had 49 steals last season, when he hit the homer he needed to reach 30 with three games left in the season.

The son of longtime big league pitcher Bobby Witt also became the first player with multiple 30-30 seasons in his first three years in the big leagues. In fact, only six other players have had one within their first three seasons.

The second overall pick in the 2019 first-year player draft, Witt signed an 11-year deal with the Royals in the offseason that ultimately will pay him $288,777,777. The biggest deal in franchise history included a $7,777,777 signing bonus, an ode to his No. 7 jersey that has become so popular with Kansas City fans who have packed Kauffman Stadium during their playoff chase.

The Royals are firmly in an AL wild-card spot with an outside chance of catching Cleveland in the division.

MLB shuffles

Former Miami Marlins general manager Michael Hill was promoted to Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of on-field operations and workforce development on Tuesday and April Brown to senior vice president of social responsibility and diversity.

The promotions fill areas of supervision that had been under Billy Bean, senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion until his death on Aug. 6 from acute myeloid leukemia.

Briefly

>> Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan is set to face hitters for the first time next week since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.

>> Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara took the mound on Tuesday for his first live batting practice since the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow last October.

>> The Houston Astros have placed outfielder Ben Gamel on the 10-day injured list with a broken left leg, three days after he ran into the wall at Angel Stadium while making a running catch.