Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop Wander Franco will be benched at least two games for not “being the best teammate,” manager Kevin Cash said Thursday.
Franco, 22, was out of the lineup Thursday and is expected to miss Friday’s game before potentially returning for Saturday’s game.
“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 told reporters.
“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.”
Franco has enjoyed a breakout 2023 season, but his conduct on the field has apparently become too much for Cash and his coaching staff.
The former consensus No. 1 overall prospect has at times thrown his bat after outs, failed to run out routine ground balls and argued with teammates and umpires.
Last Sunday, he refused to speak with the media after committing two errors on one play, according to ESPN.
“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 has helped lead Tampa Bay to the best record in baseball so far this season (52-25 through play Wednesday).
After struggling with injuries last season, Franco is hitting .287/.349/.455 with eight home runs and 24 steals, in addition to excellent defense at shortstop, in 2023.
His 3.3 WAR, according to FanGraphs, ranks third among all position players.
In November 2021, Franco agreed to an 11-year deal worth $182 million guaranteed and up to 12 years and $223 million, which is the largest contract in Rays history and for a player with less than a year of service time.