Rays shortstop Wander Franco benched for the way he has handled frustration this season
Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco reacts after hitting a foul fly ball down the right field line in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, June 18, 2023, in San Diego. Credit: AP/Derrick Tuskan
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco has been benched and will not play in Thursday and Friday's games against Kansas City at least by Rays manager Kevin Cash for the way he has handled frustrating situations this year.
“Wander is a really good kid, really good person,” Cash said before Thursday night's game with the Royals. “He's a young player that is learning and dealing with the challenges of being a major league player, and some of the frustrations that come with it.
"Over the course of this season there's been probably multiple times that the way he has handled his frustrations have not been the way that we ask our players to uphold being the best teammate.”
Cash declined to give specifics about any incidents, but the 22-year old has not run out grounders at times and has some baserunning lapses.
Also, Franco has thrown his bat after striking out, and last Sunday declined to talk to reporters after making two errors on one play.
“We're going to continue to support Wander as he works through this,” Cash said. “I'm personally going to (help), this organization will, this staff will. We look forward to having him back.”
Franco is hitting .287 with eight homers, 34 RBIs and has stolen 24 bases.
Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco leads off from second base during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 16, 2023, in San Diego. Credit: AP/Gregory Bull
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