Wander Franco

Rays Likely To Activate Wander Franco From Injured List

By Anthony Franco | September 8, 2022 at 9:02pm CDT

The Rays are likely to activate Wander Franco from the 10-day injured list before tomorrow’s series opener with the Yankees, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The shortstop has been on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham, but he traveled with the team to the Bronx during today’s off day and is likely to be back in the lineup on Friday night.

Franco has been out for two months. He suffered a hamate fracture in his right wrist on July 9, and he underwent surgery a few days later. That procedure came with a five-to-eight week recovery timetable. Franco comes in toward the latter end of that timeline, largely thanks to a couple brief setbacks along the way. Sent out on a rehab assignment in mid-August, the 21-year-old was pulled back a few days later after experiencing some residual soreness. That set Franco back a couple weeks, but he’s been in Durham’s lineup each of the past two nights.

A two-day rehab stint after an absence of this length doesn’t give Franco much time to get back into a rhythm, but the Rays are also facing one of their most important series of the year. Tampa Bay trails the Yankees by five games, and this weekend’s series will be the teams’ final meeting of the regular season. For the Rays to have a realistic chance at winning the AL East, they’ll probably have to at least take two of three to gain a game in the standings. Getting Franco back certainly helps those efforts, even if his second season in the majors hasn’t gone as smoothly as they’d have hoped.

The sport’s consensus top prospect before his promotion last summer, Franco hit .288/.347/.463 through his first 70 MLB games. He already looked like one of the sport’s top overall players, but the switch-hitting infielder has taken a bit of a step back in his sophomore campaign. He carries a .260/.308/.396 line through 247 trips to the plate. He’s been one of the league’s toughest players to strike out, but his power production has taken a bit of a step back. Franco has also had a pair of extended IL stints, missing a month due to a quad strain before this hamate issue.

Relatively slow start aside, there’s no question Franco represents a marked upgrade over the Rays other options at shortstop. Tampa Bay has primarily turned to Taylor Walls there in his absence. A former highly-regarded prospect himself (albeit not one of Franco’s caliber), Walls has stumbled to a .176/.267/.282 line over 408 trips to the dish.

Franco was joined on his rehab stint by Tyler Glasnow, who tossed an inning on 19 pitches last night for Durham. It marked the big right-hander’s first game action since he underwent Tommy John surgery last August. Glasnow, who signed an extension two weeks back, continues to pursue a late-season return to the club. There’s a bit less than a month remaining on the regular season schedule, but the 29-year-old could factor in as an abbreviated starter or reliever for the stretch run and postseason if all goes according to plan.

It wasn’t all positive news on the injury front for the Rays, as they’re shutting down one of their top prospects for the season. Infielder Curtis Mead is out for the year with a forearm/elbow issue, tweets Triple-A broadcaster Patrick Kinas. Mead, a 21-year-old third baseman/second baseman, raked at a .305/.394/.548 clip through 56 games with Double-A Montgomery. That earned him a bump to Durham in late June, where he’d been off to a .278/.376/.486 start before the injury.

That monster showing has elevated Mead’s prospect status. Baseball America slotted the Australia native 3rd in an excellent Tampa Bay system and 24th overall on its most recent Top 100 prospect rankings. While he’s yet to make his major league debut, he’ll no doubt be added to the 40-man roster this winter to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. With a strong start to next season for the Bulls, Mead could factor into the Rays infield by the middle part of next season.

Injury Notes: Franco, Verlander, Arano

By Darragh McDonald | September 5, 2022 at 12:30pm CDT

Rays shortstop Wander Franco resumed his rehab assignment yesterday, slotting in as the designated hitter for the Triple-A Durham Bulls as he attempts to return from July hamate surgery. The plan, as relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, is for Franco to stick with the Bulls for a few more games and rejoin the Rays for their series against the Blue Jays on September 12.

Of course, this is contingent on Franco feeling well in the coming days. He attempted to begin a rehab assignment a few weeks ago but was pulled off due to continued soreness in his hand. It seems like he’s in a better position this time around, however. “This is definitely the best I’ve felt since the injury,” Franco tells Topkin, via interpreter Manny Navarro. “That’s probably the most important thing, if he feels good where he’s at, where we’re at,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Getting Franco back for the final few weeks of the regular season would certainly be a boon for the Rays. They are currently five games back of the Yankees in the battle for the AL East crown and sandwiched between the Mariners and Blue Jays in the Wild Card picture. The club also put second baseman Brandon Lowe on the IL last week, which further subtracted from their infield depth.

Other injury notes from around the league…

Astros righty Justin Verlander went on the IL a week ago due to a calf injury, with both Verlander and general manager James Click expressing optimism that a significant absence wouldn’t be necessary. However, Verlander probably won’t return after the 15-day minimum, Click tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros are fortunate enough to be sitting on a record of 86-48, six games ahead of the Yankees for the best record in the American League and 17 games ahead of the Central-leading Guardians/Twins. That means the club is cruising to a first round bye and can allow Verlander to return at whatever pace is best for his health, as opposed to rushing him back for meaningful games down the stretch. Prior to the injury, the 39-year-old was having an incredible season, especially when considering he effectively missed the previous two years. He’s thrown 152 innings in 2022 with a 1.84 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate. By surpassing the 130-inning mark, he has vested a $25MM player option for next year, but would likely be able to do better than that on the open market if he declined the option.
The Nationals placed right-hander Victor Arano on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 2, due to a right shoulder strain. The club hasn’t released any information about Arano’s timeline, but with only about four weeks left on the schedule, it’s possible that this ailment will end his season. He’s thrown 42 innings so far this year, his first MLB action since 2019. He has a 4.50 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 51.6% ground ball rate. A 58.9% strand rate is probably inflating that ERA, with advanced metrics like FIP (3.71), xFIP (3.45) and SIERA (3.12) thinking he deserved much better. The 27-year-old will cross three years of MLB service time by season’s end, meaning he will qualify for arbitration for the first time.

Florida Notes: Marlins, Rays, Lopez, Rojas, Yankees, Franco, Baz, Cooper

By Mark Polishuk | August 25, 2022 at 2:00pm CDT

The Yankees were known to be targeting Pablo Lopez prior to the trade deadline, and reports suggested that Gleyber Torres was involved in the talks between New York and Miami. One trade proposed by the Marlins would’ve seen Lopez and Miguel Rojas head to the Bronx in exchange for Torres and infield prospect Oswald Peraza, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports, but the Yankees rejected the offer.

Anthony Volpe is considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, so while Peraza is a top-100 staple in his own right, he could’ve been more of an expendable piece in trade talks. New York was still resistant to moving Peraza, and while the club was reportedly open to moving him in a possible Frankie Montas trade, the Yankees ended up landing Montas from the Athletics for another trade package that didn’t involve Peraza. The inclusion of longtime Miami staple Rojas is an interesting wrinkle, as presumably the Marlins offered Rojas as a replacement for Torres in the Yankees’ infield mix, and perhaps sought to give the veteran a chance at winning a ring with a contender. It makes for an interesting deadline what-if, and any of these players could potentially be part of different trade talks should the two teams rekindle negotiations this winter.

Some rumblings from the Marlins and Rays, as we check in on both Sunshine State teams…

After some fielding drills and batting practice on Wednesday, Wander Franco told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “I feel super good right now and [am] getting better,” in regards to his injured right hand. Soreness in that hand led Franco to be taken off his rehab assignment earlier this week, and the Rays will continue to monitor Franco’s injury before deciding when to restart his minor league work. Speaking with Topkin and company today, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday would be the earliest date for Franco to resume his rehab assignment. Franco has played in only 58 games this season due to a quad strain and then hamate-bone surgery, and his return would be a big boost to a Rays club that is trying to secure a wild card berth.
In other Rays injury updates from Topkin, Josh Fleming and Matt Wisler each started minor league rehab assignments within the last two days, while J.P. Feyereisen will throw a live batting practice session before the team decides on his rehab assignment. This is a good development for Feyereisen, who had a brief setback due to shoulder soreness earlier this month. Shane Baz also told Topkin and other reporters that he’ll start a throwing program on Monday, but it remains to be seen if Baz can get fully ramped up in time to return to big league game action before the season is over. An elbow sprain sent Baz to the 15-day IL and then the 60-day IL retroactive to July 14, so it will still be a few weeks before he is even eligible to be activated.
Garrett Cooper is two games into a minor league rehab assignment and could be back on the Marlins’ active roster as soon as Friday. Manager Don Mattingly told reporters that Cooper was slated to play three games as part of his recovery from a stint on the seven-day concussion IL, and Cooper is no longer experiencing any symptoms. Cooper’s IL placement was retroactive to August 17, and it doesn’t look like he’ll miss much more time beyond the seven-day minimum.

Wander Franco Pulled Off Rehab Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | August 21, 2022 at 11:17pm CDT

The chances of Wander Franco returning this season have taken a hit, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays’ shortstop has been pulled off his rehab assignment due to continued soreness in his right hand.

It’s been a frustrating season for the 21-year-old, the first campaign of the huge 11-year, $182MM extension he signed with the Rays in November. After years of hype as one of the top prospects in baseball, often being considered the very best, Franco arrived with aplomb last year. He got into 70 games in his debut season, hitting .288/.347/.463 for a wRC+ of 127, or 27% better than league average. At the end of that successful season, the Rays gave him the largest contract in team history, hoping to have him serve as the face of the franchise for the next decade-plus.

Unfortunately, it’s been a series of injury setbacks here in 2022. Franco missed most of June due to a quad strain, returning for about two weeks before landing on the IL again, this time due to discomfort in his hand and wrist area. The club later announced that Franco would undergo surgery to address damage to his hamate bone, providing a window of 5-8 weeks as his estimated recovery timeline. It was approximately five weeks later (on August 16) that Franco began his rehab assignment. However, it seems that the issue hasn’t quite cleared, with Franco now being shut down for a little bit longer.

This latest setback will put a dent in how much Franco can contribute for the club down the stretch. There are now just over six weeks remaining on the MLB schedule for the regular season. Though the club hasn’t provided any kind of updated timeline of what they expect for the next steps, Franco will first have to get beyond the soreness he’s experiencing and then resume his rehab assignment before the Rays can think about having him rejoin the big league club. Tampa currently holds the final Wild Card spot in the American League, though Minnesota is within a game and a half, with three other clubs with five games.

Until then, the Rays will likely continue slotting Taylor Walls into shortstop, as they have done for most of the games with Franco out of action. He’s hitting .179/.275/.297 on the year for a wRC+ of 73.

AL East Notes: Hall, Springer, Franco, Ramirez, Stanton

By Mark Polishuk | August 14, 2022 at 8:02am CDT

Orioles pitching prospect DL Hall made his Major League debut yesterday, allowing five runs over 3 2/3 innings in an 8-2 loss to the Rays. The outing will act as a cup of coffee for Hall for the time being, as the Orioles will send him back to Triple-A today and transition him to relief pitching. MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes that the O’s view Hall as an intriguing bullpen option for this season, as a live arm with the potential to work multiple innings in a game.

The move also allows for the Orioles to limit Hall’s innings. With 81 1/3 total frames pitched in the majors and minors this season, Hall is already within sight of his career high of 94 1/3 innings pitched (in 2018 in A-ball). Given Hall’s injury history and the fact that he tossed only 31 2/3 IP last year, Baltimore is trying to both manage Hall’s health and capitalize on his short-term potential to help the Orioles’ surprising postseason bid.

Wander Franco To Miss 5-8 Weeks Due To Hand Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | July 11, 2022 at 3:50pm CDT

Rays’ shortstop Wander Franco, who was placed on the IL yesterday due to an injury to his hamate bone, will undergo surgery to repair it. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news, noting that Franco will be out 5-8 weeks.

Long considered one of the top prospects in the sport, Franco debuted last year and delivered on the hype with an excellent rookie campaign. Just 20 years old at the time, he got into 70 games, striking out in just 12% of his plate appearances and hitting .288/.347/.463 for a wRC+ of 127. On the heels of that campaign, the Rays signed him to an 11-year, $182MM extension to keep him around as the face of the franchise for the next decade-plus.

Unfortunately, the first season of that extension hasn’t gone according to plan, with Franco being beset by injuries on multiple occasions. He first landed on the IL in May due to a quad strain, before this hamate injury surfaced. He’s managed to get into 58 games on the season, but seems to have been dragged down by these ailments. His batting line this year is .260/.308/.396, still above average with a 104 wRC+, but surely a disappointment for a young player hoping to see year-over-year growth. With a 5-8 week absence coming up, it seems he won’t be back until mid-August at the earliest, but potentially not returning until September.

The grim news for the Rays doesn’t end there, as Topkin relays an update on center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who also went on the IL yesterday alongside Kiermaier. Manager Kevin Cash says that Kiermaier will see a hip specialist after the All-Star break and is going to be “down for some time.” The defensive wiz was having another one of his customary seasons, providing quality glovework while hitting just shy of league average. While the length of his absence isn’t exactly clear, it seems like it will be significant. This leaves the club doubly handicapped in the outfield, especially in center, as Manuel Margot is also on the IL, with a patellar tendon strain keeping him out of action for a decent chunk of time as well.

With Franco out of action in the past couple of days, the club has turned to Taylor Walls at shortstop. Through 73 games this year, he’s hitting just .164/.245/.264 for a wRC+ of 52. Center field has been manned by Brett Phillips, who’s hitting .146/.218/.247 for a 39 wRC+ on the campaign. With both Franco and Kiermaier out of action for significant time, these two areas stand out as clear areas of need as the August 2 trade deadline approaches. The Rays are currently 45-40, well back of the Yankees in the AL East but still in possession of a postseason spot in a tight Wild Card race.

Rays Place Wander Franco, Kevin Kiermaier, Jeffrey Springs Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | July 10, 2022 at 9:00am CDT

July 10: The Rays have officially announced that Franco and Kiermaier have been placed on the 10-day IL, while lefty Jeffrey Springs has been placed on the 15-day IL due to right lower leg tightness. Righty Calvin Faucher was also optioned to Triple-A Durham. To take over those four spots on the roster, they have indeed recalled Raley and Aranda, as well as lefty Josh Fleming and righty Phoenix Sanders.

July 9: The Rays have lost two regulars to the 10-day injured list, as Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier have both been sidelined. As reported earlier, Franco left today’s game due to an injury in his right hand and wrist area, and manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the initial diagnosis is that the injury is related to Franco’s hamate bone. Franco will visit doctors on Monday to determine the extent of the problem, and if surgery is required, he could miss roughly 6-8 weeks.

Franco had to be removed after his very first at-bat, a first-inning strikeout against Hunter Greene. On the second-last pitch of the plate appearance, Franco looked shaken up after fouling off a Greene fastball, and he was replaced in the field for the bottom of the inning.

Kiermaier played most of Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds, as the center fielder was replaced for a pinch-runner after singling in the ninth inning. During the game, however, Kiermaier experienced more discomfort in his left hip — that same issue forced Kiermaier to the IL in late June, though he missed only the minimum 10 days before being activated.

Given the recurring nature of the hip problem, it seems likely that Kiermaier will miss more than 10 days, though the upcoming All-Star break could cover four days of that IL stint. Unless the Rays want to monitor Kiermaier to ensure that the hip soreness is entirely behind him, Kiermaier could be activated as early as July 22, when the Rays kick off their second half with a series in Kansas City.

Even if Franco can avoid surgery, he’ll still need at least a few weeks of recovery time. The second-year star has hit .260/.308/.396 over 247 plate appearances this season — still above-average (1o4 wRC+) production, but naturally a letdown given the high expectations created by Franco’s top-prospect status and excellent 2021 rookie season. Franco got off to a great start before quad injuries hampered his play in May, and that quad problem eventually sent him to the IL for four weeks.

Topkin writes that outfielder Luke Raley and infielder Jonathan Aranda are likely to be called up to replace Franco and Kiermaier on the active roster. Aranda made his MLB debut in cup-of-coffee fashion earlier this season, playing in two games. He’ll likely step into Taylor Walls’ utility infield role, as Walls will probably resume everyday shortstop duty (as he did during Franco’s last IL stint).

Raley is also a left-handed hitting outfielder, so in that sense, he’s an easy replacement for Kiermaier in Tampa Bay’s outfield mix. However, there’s obviously no way to easily replace Kiermaier’s all-world defense, though backup Brett Phillips is a solid defender in his own right (even if right field is Phillips’ best outfield position from a glovework standpoint). Phillips and Josh Lowe are the likeliest candidates to handle center field while Kiermaier is out, and Vidal Brujan also figures to chip in up the middle. Manuel Margot is out until at least late August due to a patellar tendon strain, and while the Rays are optimistic Margot will play again in 2022, anything he can contribute going forward might be seen as a bonus.

While neither Franco or Kiermaier have excelled at the plate this season, their twin absences will likely only intensify the Rays’ already clear need for more hitting help at the deadline. Especially if Franco is sidelined until September, Tampa will need more consistent production from the lineup if the team is going to both qualify for the postseason and then be legitimate contenders in October. As usual, the Rays aren’t likely to break the bank on a new acquisition, but position-player depth (whether an everyday name or a multi-positional part-timer) certainly seems like a priority.

AL East Notes: Franco, Orioles, Elias, Red Sox

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2022 at 6:19pm CDT

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.]

Rays Reinstate Wander Franco

By Mark Polishuk | June 26, 2022 at 10:10am CDT

June 26: The Rays have officially reinstated Franco, per broadcaster Neil Solondz, with Jonathan Aranda being optioned in a corresponding move.

June 25: The Rays are hopeful of activating shortstop Wander Franco from the 10-day injured list on Sunday, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin). Franco hasn’t played since May 30 due to a right quad strain, though he did rejoin the Rays today after finishing a five-game minor league rehab assignment. Cash said that Franco will meet with team trainers before the official go-ahead is given to reinstate him to the active roster.

Quad and hamstring problems bothered Franco even prior to his IL stint, as Cash said that for “maybe a month’s worth of games, he just wasn’t himself.” This is reflected in Franco’s splits, since the star shortstop posted a .912 OPS in his first 87 plate appearances of the season, but then slumped to a .566 OPS over 103 PA in May.

However, Franco now appears to be healthy, and ready to fully build on his excellent 2021 rookie season. Considering baseball’s top prospect before his debut last season, the 21-year-old Franco lived up to those high expectations, to the point that the Rays jumped to extend him via the biggest contract in club history.

Getting Franco back into the everyday lineup will be a huge help for a Rays team that hasn’t gotten much consistent hitting. Tampa’s typically excellent pitching (particularly the rotation) has helped keep the Rays afloat in the tough AL East, as the Rays still have a 39-32 record and are in possession of a wild card berth. Getting even average hitting would help the Rays solidify that playoff positioning, and perhaps help them cut into the Yankees’ big division lead.

Franco isn’t the only reinforcement on the way, as Drew Rasmussen is tentatively slated to return during the Rays’ upcoming series (June 30-July 3) against the Blue Jays. Rasmussen was retroactively placed on the 15-day IL due to a hamstring strain on June 12, and more will be known about his status once he completes three innings of live batting practice today at the Rays’ Spring Training facility.

Pete Fairbanks is also on the comeback trail, as the right-hander has yet to pitch this season after suffering a partial lat tear in March. Fairbanks is scheduled for his own live BP session on Monday and then a Florida Coast League game on Thursday, and may join Triple-A Durham for a rehab assignment afterwards.

Rays Place Wander Franco On Injured List, Designate Ben Bowden For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 31, 2022 at 9:52pm CDT

9:52pm: Franco told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that he hopes to return to the big league club in around two weeks but conceded the specific timetable was fairly fluid.

1:05pm: The Rays announced Tuesday that shortstop Wander Franco has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained quadriceps. His spot on the active roster will go to righty Shawn Armstrong, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay designated lefty Ben Bowden for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Armstrong.

Franco was lifted from yesterday’s game after his third hit of the day after he felt what manager Kevin Cash described as a “tug” in the same quad muscle that held him out of a few games a bit more than a week ago. He’ll now be sidelined for at least the next 10 days following a recurrence of the issue.

The Rays aren’t short on options to fill in for Franco, with Taylor Walls, Vidal Brujan and Isaac Paredes all on the big league roster at the moment. That’s not to say Franco’s absence won’t sting, of course, even if it’s abbreviated in nature. The consensus No. 1 overall prospect in baseball heading into the 2021 season, Franco has compiled a .281/.331/.447 slash through his first 498 plate appearances (121 wRC+) while turning in strong defensive ratings at shortstop.

Bowden, 27, was a waiver claim out of the Rockies organization a month ago. He’s yet to appear in the Majors this season but tossed 10 innings for Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate in Durham, allowing a pair of runs on nine hits and seven walks with 10 strikeouts along the way. Those seven free passes in Durham represented a 15.9% walk rate — a continuation of the longstanding command issue that have plagued Bowden throughout his minor league career.

The Rockies selected Bowden with the 45th overall pick back in 2016. He’s at times looked like an intriguing prospect but also struggled with inconsistency over the years since that lofty selection in the draft. Bowden had terrific Double-A numbers in 2019 and was outstanding in Triple-A last year — 11 2/3 scoreless innings, 17-to-4 K/BB ratio — but his big league debut last season didn’t go nearly as smoothly. In 35 2/3 frames for the Rockies, Bowden was tagged for a 6.56 ERA with a 23.7% strikeout rate and a bloated 11.9% walk rate.

The Rays will have a week to trade Bowden, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He’s already been claimed once this season, and with any lefty who can miss bats, there’s always a chance another club will have some interest either in a small trade or via waiver claim.

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