Shortstop Wander Franco Feels Good, Happy to Be Back With Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When you're 21 years old, you're young and healthy and usually immune to dealing with nagging injuries. So it's been extremely frustrating for talented Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco that he had to be shut down for nearly a month because of quadriceps and hamstring injuries.
But several weeks of rest of rehab have helped him feel better, and he's back in the starting lineup on Sunday when the Rays take on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
And not a minute too soon. It's been a frustrating time away from the field for the Dominican star.
"I feel good, thank God. I just kept on working and trusted the trainers to help me do the rehab to get back,'' Franco said before Sunday's game through interpreter Manny Navarro. "It's frustrating for me because this is the first time that I've been down for so long in my career. But I'm good to go.''
Franco is a chiseled 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds. He was red-hot in to open the season, going 22-for-56 — a .393 average — with three homers and 10 RBIs in the first two weeks.
But then he started having muscle issues in both legs, in the hamstring and the quad. It was hard to stay loose, and often when he exerted too much, he's strain something. He tried playing through it, but it was affecting his play. He hit only .232 in May, and that included a 3-for-4 game on May 30 at Texas, his final appearance before getting shut down.
He was shut down completely for a week or so, letting him body rest while getting plenty of treatment from Rays trainers. He resumed baseball activity, and then played in five rehab games in the past week, two in Port Charlotte and three for Triple-A Durham. Franco hit 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles and a triple.
He's ready to get back at it, especially now that he feels good.
"It helped a lot (to get some rest). I feel a lot better now,'' Franco said. "I knew by the second game with Durham that I was ready to go. I just need to make sure my pregame routine is a little better, just working with the trainers and keeping a good routine and working on my lower half.
"(The injuries) affected me a little bit. When someone plays in a little bit of pain, it affects the way the way they play. I was very frustrated.''
To make room on the roster, the Rays sent infielder Jonathan Aranda back to Durham. Aranda started Friday's game against the Pirates and went 1-for-2. He pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday and got an infield hit, keeping the game alive for Isaac Paredes, who got a game-winning walk-off single on the next at-bat in the Rays' 6-5 win.
For the year, Wander is hitting .270 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 178 at-bats.
VIDEO: Watch Wander Franco's pregame interview
Related stories on Rays baseball
- PAREDES HERO AGAIN (Saturday): Tampa Bay's Isaac Paredes has had a week for the ages, and he added to it on Saturday with another home run and a two-run walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. His big hit gave the Rays a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, beating them in walk-off fashion for the second straight night. CLICK HERE
- RAYS WIN IN EXTRAS (Friday): Newcomers Luke Raley and Jonathan Aranda had early RBI singles and Harold Ramirez drove in the winning run in the 10th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Friday night. Rays pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts and no walks, only the fourth time in team history that it's happened. CLICK HERE
- RAYS NOTEBOOK: Pitcher Shane Baz recalls the day he got traded to the Rays from the Pirates back in 2018, plus injury updates on Manuel Margot, Wander Franco and Drew Rasmussen. CLICK HERE
- RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the Rays' complete schedule for 2022, with results and stats thus far, and gametimes and locations for the rest of the year. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.