Rays’ Wander Franco benched at least two games for not ‘being the best teammate’

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Thursday that shortstop Wander Franco will not be in the lineup until at least Saturday for the way he has handled frustrations this season. 

Franco was not in the lineup on Thursday in Tampa Bay’s game against the Kansas City Royals and will also sit out Friday’s game. 

Wander Franco, #5 of the Tampa Bay Rays, reacts after being called out at 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 kid, really good person. 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,” Cash told reporters. 

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“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.”

While Cash declined to get into specifics on what led to Franco’s benching, multiple instances this season involving Franco are believed to have led to it. 

Wander Franco, #5 of the Tampa Bay Rays, looks on prior to the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Tampa, Florida.  (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Franco has had baserunning lapses and has failed to run out ground balls at times, according to The Associated Press. 

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The young shortstop also had a verbal altercation in the dugout with teammate Randy Arozarena in May, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

“We’re going to continue to support Wander as he works through this,” Cash added. “I’m personally going to. This organization will. This staff will. We know that he’s a really good kid and 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 RBI’s in 318 plate appearances for the first-place Rays. 

The young star signed an 11-year, $182-million guaranteed contract in November 2021.