Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Thursday that shortstop roam frank He won’t be in the lineup until at least Saturday because of the way he’s handled frustrations this season.
Franco was not in the lineup Thursday for Tampa Bay’s game against the Kansas City Royals and he will also be left out of Friday’s game.
Tampa Bay Rays number 5 Wander Franco reacts after being called home during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 30, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
«Wander is a really good guy, a really good person. He’s a young player who is learning and dealing with the challenges of being a major league player and some of the frustrations that come with it,» Cash told reporters.
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«Over the course of this season, there have probably been multiple times that the way you’ve handled your frustrations hasn’t been the way we ask our players to continue to be the best teammates.»
While Cash declined to go into detail about what led Franco to the bench, several instances this season involving Franco are believed to have led to it.
Wander Franco, number 5 of the Tampa Bay Rays, looks on before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. (Photos by Rob Tringali/MLB via Getty Images)
frank has had base running failures and he hasn’t been able to run out of ground balls at times, according to The Associated Press.
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The young shortstop also got into a verbal altercation on the bench with teammate Randy Arozarena in May, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
«We’re going to continue to support Wander as he works on this,» Cash added. «I personally will do it. This organization will do it. This staff will do it. We know he’s a really good guy and we look forward to having him back.»
Wander Franco, #5 of the Tampa Bay Rays, reacts after hitting a foul ball during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres on June 18, 2023 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
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Franco, 22, is hitting .287 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 318 plate appearances for the first-place Rays.
The young star signed a guaranteed contract of 182 million dollars for 11 years in November 2021.