Wander Franco left today’s game after his first plate appearance, due to what the Rays described as discomfort in the shortstop’s right hand and wrist. Franco has already been ruled out of Sunday’s game, and he is set to visit a doctor on Monday when the Rays return home after a road trip.
The situation doesn’t sound promising, as even if Franco has avoided a serious injury, another trip to the injured list could be beckoning if the Rays want to be cautious with the young star. The All-Star break could play a role in Tampa Bay’s decision, as Franco’s 10-day minimum absence could be partially absorbed by the league-wide break in the schedule. Franco already missed four weeks due to a quad strain, and wasn’t particularly productive in the weeks leading up to that last IL placement as he was trying to play through the injury. Since returning from the injured list, Franco has registered a hit in 11 of 13 games, but with only a .634 OPS over 56 plate appearances. [UPDATE: Manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that Franco seems to have suffered a hamate bone injury, which usually requires 4-6 weeks of recovery time.]
More from around the AL East…
- Today’s victory over the Angels extended the Orioles’ winning streak to seven games, and Baltimore now has a 42-44 record. After years of rebuilding, the O’s may seem a little ahead of schedule, as they find themselves on the outskirts of the wild card hunt. However, GM Mike Elias didn’t give reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) any hint that the team would be planning to add rather than subtract at the trade deadline, just saying that “everything that I do or that we do has tradeoffs, and all I can say is, we do everything from a very global, a very thoughtful perspective about what is the right thing to do for the health of the Orioles’ franchise….I think that we’re in store for a lot of good stuff in the next few years, and I’m very happy that it’s kind of reflected right now during this stretch of play so plainly for our fans.”
- Elias also noted that the front office has been more focused on the upcoming amateur draft than on trade possibilities, and that the Orioles are considering five players for the first overall pick.
- At this point, the Red Sox are planning to be “cautious buyers” at the deadline, a source tells Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. The 45-39 Sox hold the second AL wild card spot, though a wild card is likely the best they’ll be able to do, given how the Yankees are running away with the division. However, Abraham notes that the Red Sox have an extremely difficult schedule for the rest of July, which could impact their status to the point that the Sox might even consider selling if they fall behind in the postseason race.
Oh Elias is a Globalist, eh
There are still about a billion people from China, who are unaware of the Orioles tidal wave coming
However, it is nice that they are playing good ball
I hope they buy, because oddly enough, I think they are good enough to take a wildcard spot
I agree, that is a weird opinion.
I’m guessing you’re taking it too literally, and he just meant they look at the big picture for both near-term and long-term.
Cue Inigo Montoya.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan19 hours ago
Oh Elias is a Globalist, eh
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Do you know the various meanings of the word “global”? It is lot more than just the geographical term that refers to the planet Earth.
It would be interesting if Boston becomes sellers. They have valuable short term trade pieces. Martinez, Eovaldi, Vazquez, Hernandez etc..
The Sox, sellers? Nah. They need one temporary innings eater in rotation (low era not required) until starter staff is healthy. Yes? They by far have the best run differential of the WC contenders. They can get away with this move! Once staff is healthy, this guy goes to long relief/spot starter role? One candidate. When the Os Elias signed Lyles off season, I pictured him as the bridge to Rodriguez and Hall call ups thus tradeable at deadline? With one hurt, the other still in minors, probably not happening now? Even do, maybe, still a trade possibility? Cheap. $7 million.
Honestly, I agree with you it isn’t likely Boston sells but still with three weeks to go anything can change especially with their schedule. Look at Washington and Chicago last year. Yes, Lyles would be a good trade candidate. He does have an $11M club option after the season which offers some potential control depending on how he pitches down the stretch (I have a tough time seeing Baltimore or any other team actually exercising it though). He’s a decent innings eater pitcher. Quintana, Kuhl, Pineda, and Greinke would also be solid options and affordable. Maybe Davies also.
@redsfan; Greinke, Quintana. Interesting. Both gamers!
Yes! Plus even if Boston did decide to sell it probably would only be rentals. They have no intentions of punting on the 2023 season.
C Yards Jeff;
I started watching the Royals in 2013. Took parts of 4 games when I realized how good they were going to be. Not so much in dominant talent, but in playing smart, opportunistic, fundamental team baseball. They went to 2 WS and were my (and many people I know) favorite team in the 2000’s.
The Orioles are now in that category. Easily the best young team I’ve seen since those Royals. The difference is that the Orioles teach pitching better; and rather than going all in for a 3 year window, their aim is sustainable contention.
Wrote a week ago – this team has a chance to take a WC spot this year. Let’s see how they play against the 4 other ALE teams.
@Samuel; The Royals, what a run that was! That said, as an Os fan, painful to reflect on for too long. IE I’m having 2014 playoff flashbacks. Help!
It wouldn’t be a shocka if they were sellers. Long term deep depth (to paraphrase Larry Luchino) is what they’re striving for. The prospect of another year of the qualifying offer potentially plays into any strategy. Cost certainty trumps winning with this ownership group. Can they get healthy enough to make a run to a WC showdown? Will they stay close until key arms return and in turn pitch well? Can they add pen pieces without giving up key young talent? Does the FO really believe in this team this year, or is their focus on the sustainability of keeping competitive long term? Was last year luck? Perhaps they played over their heads? My take would be go for it. Chaim Bloom can spend and build for a sustainable future at the same time. He assembled this team. Time to put up and buck up. I’ve got faith in him. Time for him to have faith in his guys. All in all the time.
Here comes the O’s
“Cautious buyers” is Bloom’s m.o. No news there.
Cautious buyer makes sense. Prices are their highest at mid-season. Hopefully the Red Sox snag another Schwarber.
Mostly agree. But there’s such a thing as too cautious.
Baby Birds are chirping
Go Os!
First Atlanta beat everyone, mostly without Ronald Acuna Jr.
Now Baltimore are finally relevant again, but without John Means.
Do stars matter?
Atlanta winning without Acuna is more impressive than what Baltimore is doing without means lol. Means is nowhere near Acuna’s status and honestly at this point in his career hasn’t reached star status.
Did anyone here really need Abraham to tell them Boston has a tough schedule that could lead to them becoming sellers. Go back to the buffet Abe.
How dare he report the news!!
If having a tough schedule that could lead to selling is news to you then all I can say is glad your head finally came out of the sand.
I’m a little busy and come to this website for the latest Snippets and news. Article like this enlightened me and I’m glad for it. I don’t have time to sit in front of the computer and read every baseball website and be caught up on everything. I really didn’t know the Red Sox had a super tough schedule coming up. I don’t think that means my head is in the sand it means I’m busy.
Let’s go Os! Don’t trade anyone and call up Gunnar and DL and see what happens. Love the fight this team has.
As I previously stated the 14 game stretch til the all star break will garner the sox a 4-10 outcome at best. the schedule after the all star break isn’t any easier. Any wc hopes might be crushed by the time the trade deadline arrives. Thank you John Henry for ignoring the sox these past two years and hiring bloom to insure your profits are protected.
Dave Dombrowski is doing a heck of a job in Philadelphia……
But then, you hated him as well.
Hear ya. He;s 72. Bought the team to make money. He’ll cash out before too long. Not like he’s a fan of the game. Strictly business. That I suppose is his right. He did break the curse, and I’ll always be grateful for 4 championships. it is however frustrating.
Bobby – I pretty much agree with you. I too am grateful Henry put together talented front offices in the past, came up with creative ways to generate revenue, and spent more than most every other team.
But yeah, his focus over the past few years has been elsewhere. He’s been dealing with Liverpool a lot, and recently the Penguins acquisition, and the abysmal 2019 failure really changed his perspective and approach with regard to running the Red Sox.
I do hope he cashes out soon like you said, but I don’t see him selling his stake in FSG. If anything he will continue to acquire one team from every major sports league. I would expect him to add an NFL and NBA team to his portfolio.
But yeah, his focus over the past few years has been elsewhere.
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Guys like Henry don’t do a lot of hands-on stuff. Or even more importantly, they should not be doing anything hands-on. They might attend to investing in the physical plant, or deciding which years to go over of under the cap.
They don’t make player decisions.
Joe – You are flat-out wrong. When it comes to franchise icons and 9-figure contracts, ownership most certainly gets involved.
Here’s more proof, John Henry flying to Atlanta for the sole purpose of trying to sign free agent Jon Lester.
https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-owner-john-henry-meets-privately-with-free-agent-pitcher-jon-lester/c-103357070
And he came back empty-handed. Thanks for proving my point. had henry wanted to sign him, he could’ve.
Joe – That’s quite an arrogant, ignorant comment.
John Henry is not George Steinbrenner, when the bidding gets out of hand he doesn’t give blank checks … nor should he.
You foolishly said owners don’t get involved in making player decisions. If that were true, there would be no need for Henry to fly to Atlanta to have PRIVATE face-to-face negotiations with Lester. Obviously.
The only point I proved is that you still refuse to admit when you’re wrong, even after evidence is provided that proves you are. How sad.
Here’s another article about an owner getting heavily involved in making player decisions, feel free to ignore this one too. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.
https://halohangout.com/posts/arte-moreno-uncharacteristically-la-angels-sign-raisel-iglesias-multi-year-contract
If that were true, there would be no need for Henry to fly to Atlanta to have PRIVATE face-to-face negotiations with Lester.
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That was to save face. Any time the RS lose a player, going back as far as Pedro, they always want to make it seem like they did everything in their power to sign the player.
IRT to Moreno, he is widely considered among the worst owners in baseball. In addition, $58M/4, for an inconsistent closer, is too much. Iglesias has been getting lit up for the past 2.5 months. That’s why owners should never get involved, outside of creating a budget.
Joe – While I agree with you that ownership will always be PR-conscious by pretending to make an effort to sign certain players, they had already done that with Lester earlier in the year. That’s why they traded him, because they supposedly made an effort … which of course later on they admitted totally mishandling the negotiations. So there was no reason to make another pretend-effort to sign him after he became a free agent.
I don’t have a strong opinion either way on Moreno, but any owner willing to spend big bucks on a guy like Ohtani or Trout can’t be one of the worst owners. Worst owners are those who pocket revenue instead of spending to win.
Regardless, I’ve proven my point. Owners absolutely do get involved in some situations.
So all you guys are in favor of writing checks as opposed to building a baseball team for today as well as for tomorrow? Interesting way to look at things.
I could imagine if you all were Royals or Reds or Pirates fans. You’d have no hair left.
Gary – I think most Sox fans are in favor of using ALL types of resources to be competitive every year.
When you have the highest average ticket prices in MLB, you darn well better be willing to spend money to keep your best players and acquire players when needed.
no, boston should sell even if they are ‘ in it’ you need to ask yourself what are they playing for, the 2nd wild card, which means what, they will play baseball for another week then get knocked out by a team thats better than them like Houston? what will that prove, that they arent that good, we already know that. What they DO have going for them are valuable players they can trade that will actually bring alot back, they arent far off from competing, but the ‘ core’ they have now must be broken up, they just arent that good, young or healthy anymore.
It’s because you ALWAYS go for it if you’re close. People think it’s so easy to be in the race but it’s not. How many last place finishes do the Red Sox have? Plenty of them.
If you’re in the Wild Card position at the deadline you DON’T SELL.
Amanda16 hours ago
no, boston should sell even if they are ‘ in it’ you need to ask yourself what are they playing for, the 2nd wild card,
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1-They currently have the 3rd best record in the AL.
2-If the only time you are going to “go for it” is when you are in 1st, you might be waiting a long time, particularly in the ALE.
we hate him because he signed david price who as a human being never should have been on this team, end the conversation their and get over it
Without out David Price you don’t win the 2018 World Series. Oh but we won 4-1 he’s not that big a deal! He took the ball three times in four days and gave Cora and his gassed bullpen room to breathe.
As a human being? What kind of take is that? Everything I’ve read before and after the signing and even today is that he’s the best teammate ever. He may not endear himself to the media but he’s a heck of a mentor, clubhouse, and support person.
i had no ws hopes for this team, they are relying on older, hurt pitchers, thats NOT the way you build a team, the real only exception is verlander whos like a friggen robot hes so good, other than that, you dont ride pitchers over 34 to get you deep into anything, its the same with hockey and basketball, but esp in baseball,
It’s tough to do it any other way because young guys are locked up. It’s not till a guy reaches late 20s or early 30s you’re able to bolster your starting pitching or big bats.
Can’t please some people.
Honestly, Sox should be sellers. Dalbec should be traded, he has little chance of a future here. Maybe we can nab a reliever or two but highly doubt we go far if we get to the postseason because this team has lost a ton of games. I’d be happy selling and planning next year when this one seems out of reach.
no not really, David price is just generally hated, between him and manny machado they are 2 of the most disliked players in baseball, whether its Manny’s flappy ears and weird eyes that make him look like a terrorist, or the fact that everytime price threw the ball here in boston he wanted to basically say F YOU to the fans, its really not me, google the players followed by the words ‘ why are they hated’ and you will come across hall of fame baseball writers who list reasons why, also in machados case he deliberately spiked Dustin pedroia which led to years of knee issues then his early retirement, stop sticking up for players like these.
You are off base with this opinion.
“they are 2 of the most disliked players in baseball, whether its Manny’s flappy ears and weird eyes that make him look like a terrorist . . .”
Your unique baseball insights continue to impress, Amanda.
Did you catch her posts where she wished injury and illness on some players. She’s a peach alright and I’m talking the Georgia Peach.
Who the hell could of seen the season Perez is having down in Texas? That is looking like Bloom’s biggest miss this past off-season. I would say not resigning Kyle Schwarber but I think that was a John Henry decision not to overspend and Perez was affordable. This team still mashes the ball and that will cover up some pitching short comings. Sale has to be good, he has to lead the starting rotation especially right now. Hopefully Wacha’s arm comes back to life in a week or two. Keep Bello and Wincowski in the starting rotation and move Whitlock back to either closer or set up for Tanner Houck. A rotation of Sale, Pivetta, Wacha, Bello, and Wincowski can do good enough with their offense to win. Nate comes back at the deadline and then we should be set. Boston is blessed Tampa has its own injury issues and Cleveland just can’t score. Baltimore might be able to get in but they better be ahead of Boston by the deadline if they are going to have a shot. Tampa and Boston are both going to get healthier as time goes.
@Kingbum, agree with everything you said, but your Baltimore take. O’s fan here. I’m my humble opinion, they are still very inexperienced at winning consistently. Hell of a home record, but horrid on the road. I’m thinking playoff teams are playoff teams because they are competitive away from home?
@C Yards Jeff…..I also view Baltimore getting in as a long shot, but I also see a team with an upward trajectory that hasn’t been met yet. I remember last September Alex Cora was talking about the competition in the AL East and he flat out said Baltimore has the best farm system in baseball and they will be competitive next year. Ownership is the Orioles problem, they have been cheap and in the AL East you can’t be cheap even Tampa spends more now than it used to. They can’t trade away Mullins and Mancini and expect to sniff the playoffs. Having said all that BS they are within a couple games and have been hot like Seattle, so I’m giving them their due.
Martin Perez was terrible last year. He’s looking good now but fully expect a regression. I don’t think its a loss, he was so bad last year and had his chance 2 years here. We have depth.
the wacha signing never made sense to begin with, he was tampa’s 4th best starter on most nights, like dont get me wrong, i know we needed anybody and we got hurt older players( rich hill is what, 50?) but again thats what this team does, long gone are the theo days where we sign super stars in their prime, lets not forget this is the guy that in 2003 signed david ortiz, those days are over with, were stuck with low leverage older reclamation projects as pitchers, thats not an opinion
Amanda Wacha was supposed to be our 4th or 5th best pitcher too. It was supposed to be Sale, Evoladi, Pivetta, Houck, and Wacha with Hill as a depth piece. Then the season happens and from the beginning until now Wacha has been the most consistent starter. Houck and Whitlock swap roles. Nate has not really been himself and Sale breaks a rib before the season. Pivetta had a hot streak but it looks now he’s regressing back to his average. Boston would be in trouble if Wincowski hadn’t come up and been mostly good. Bello we will see he’s only made one start. If Bello and Wincowski stay productive they can move Whitlock into the bullpen with Houck and we can finally be close to a complete team.
and remember, this team had ample money and opportunity to sign justin verlander after Detroit let him walk, they didnt and Houston did, he would have done great here and anchored a staff that was young
Verlander wasn’t coming to Boston. He didn’t go to New York when the Yankees tried to get him.
Didn’t Justin Verlander earn 30 million dollars by sitting a year and a half or so? I can’t imagine the Uproar if he was with Boston during that time.
Red Sox shoot themselves in both feet and are now disappointed to learn they may no longer be able to run the marathon they committed to run.
Red Sox are in the Wild Card spot. If you shoot yourself in both feet you’re probably going to be in last place because you’re unable to run? Sox are not in last place.
Reply to my post will say this. “Yes right now, but they will be in last place after the tough July schedule.”
You don’t know that and I don’t know that. Why have a defeatist attitude about the future?
It’s amazing how good the Orioles are. They’re just in the wrong division but they’re no joke. Winning home record, amazing talent. The AL East is stacked.
So many sad sacks commenting on this article. This team went from 10 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 in a matter of four or five weeks. Let’s move forward from there instead of hanging our heads.
If the Red Sox falter and it doesn’t happen then selling is the way to go. But it seems like a majority here are envisioning doomsday baseball in Boston before it even happens !!
It’s pretty pathetic, imo. We still have the #3 record in the AL, despite having:
Sale
Eovaldi
Wacha
Hill
Whitlock
Danish
Kiki
Arroyo
On the IL.
Past that, I don’t understand how some RS fans think. They’re miserable because we only have the #3 record in the league. Talk about spoiled! Sometimes you have to fight.
Most teams wouldn’t be able to weather that kind of storm.
You need to look at the Jays and Rays. Many teams have key injuries. Wander is gone for at least another 5 weeks. Something tells me you don’t take that into account when the Rays lose to the Sox.
I absolutely do consider that. The Rays have had a lot of injuries, and a lot of badly timed injuries.
But the Jays are a model of good health. The only injury they’ve had is Ryu, and Stripling is probably better anyway.
In 2019 the experts were sure that Wash should sell in July.
In 2021 the same experts were sure Atl should sell in July.
In the last 18 yrs the LAD (one ring) & NYY (one ring) have spent the most $$$ with the BoSox 3rd in $$$ (4 rings) On two occasions the LAD bailed the Sox out of bad contracts.
us ‘ sox fans’ are miserable because over the last 20 years we have drafted 1, 2 good pitchers, jon Lester and …. Mr question mark, ask yourself, who since 2008 have the red sox DRAFTED, not trade for, but actually brought up to become a fantastic major league pitcher… nobody, so ya were pretty miserable right now since the last 2 months we are watching our team lose everynight with pitchers that arent ready and who arent good, why do you think they OVER PAYED on price, chris sale, josh beckett, dashuke, john lackey, the list go’s on, because they dont draft good pitching, position players, phenomenal job, no question about that we have maybe the best 3rd baseman and SS in the game, but when your expected to win it also has to be from both ends.
Amanda
us ‘ sox fans’ are miserable because over the last 20 years
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This might be slightly serious. The RS have been the best team in baseball for the past 20 years. If you are miserable, then you are likely the only miserable RS fan, and might want to consider re-thinking your relationship with the RS.
I am always realistically optimistic, but the chances of us winning 4 WS in the next 20 years is not very high. If you’re miserable with that level of success, it is unlikely to get better for you.
honestly you can really say the only time they traded for a pitcher that worked out amazingly amazingly well was for Pedro, for whatever reason Montreal traded him for absolutely nothing in return, forward a few years ill go with schilling, but again they were both traded, im talking about actual pitchers this team got from college to the major leagues with no middle.