The Royals placed Payamps on the family medical emergency list Thursday.
The move opens up a spot on the 28-man active roster for top prospect Bobby Witt, who will start at third base and bat second in his MLB debut. Payamps, meanwhile, remains without a clear timeline to rejoin the big club while he tends to the family matter. Once activated, Payamps is expected to fill a middle-relief role for Kansas City after he turned in a 3.40 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 6.8 K/9 in 37 appearances between the Blue Jays and Royals in 2021.