PEORIA, Ariz. -- Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. suffered a bruised left forearm when he was struck by a 96 mph fastball Wednesday in a spring training game against the Seattle Mariners, the team announced.

X-rays were negative. A timetable for his return is unclear, but sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan that Witt is expected to avoid a long absence.

Witt immediately fell to the ground after he was struck by a pitch thrown by Andres Munoz in the fifth inning. He walked to the dugout after being tended to by a trainer and tried to shake off the pain before heading to the clubhouse.

Witt was the runner-up to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in the AL MVP race after hitting .332 with 32 homers and 109 RBIs in 161 games last season. He led the AL with 211 hits in his third big league season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.