The Tampa Bay Rays are benching shortstop Wander Franco for at least two games over behavior that resulted in him not "being the best teammate.
Rays manager Kevin Cash handed down the discipline Thursday afternoon ahead of the Rays' game against the visiting Kansas City Royals, the lid lifter of a four-game series
Franco, 22, is in his third season with the Rays
"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," Cash added. "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 is batting .287 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs, 41 runs and 24 stolen bases in 72 games (70 starts). He's a career .284 hitter with 21 home runs and is the nephew of former big league players Erick Aybar and Willy Aybar.
Taylor Walls is in the lineup at shortstop and batting sixth for the Rays on Thursday. Walls is batting .211 with seven HRs in 62 games, having played at least nine games at both middle infield spots and third base
--Field Level Media