Rays’ cards on table with Franco callup
Meanwhile, Sox seem reluctant to promote their own top prospect
No pressure, kid.
Wander Franco, the consensus top prospect in baseball the last two years, is being called up by the Tampa Bay Rays to make his big league debut against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
For the Rays to call up Franco in the midst of a six-game losing streak, their worst in more than three years, is a bold move. It’s asking a lot of a player who already has the baseball world on his shoulders.
But the timing of the decision speaks volumes of how much the Rays respect the Red Sox.
With the American League East as tight as it’s been in years, the Sox and Rays have jockeyed for position at the top of the division for the better part of the last month. The Rays enter Tuesday a half-game behind thanks to an ugly stretch in which they’re hitting .198 and just lost their ace, Tyler Glasnow, to an elbow injury that could cost him his season.
There’s no doubt about it, the Rays are reeling and the Red Sox have a chance to kick them while they’re down.
“It’s going to be a big series,” Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi said. “But we have a good off-day and they have an off-day as well coming up on the West Coast. Turn the page as fast as we can and get ready to compete. It’s going to be a good series for us.”
It looks like a great matchup for the Sox hitters, who love to swing. They’re swinging 50% of the time this year, highest rate in the big leagues, while walking just 7% of the time, lowest rate in the big leagues. It’s a perfect fit against an aggressive Rays’ pitching staff that likes to challenge hitters in the zone and has the second-lowest walk rate in MLB.
But the Rays have excelled where the Red Sox haven’t: on defense.
The Rays called up Taylor Walls to solidify the shortstop position after trading Willy Adames to the Brewers, a move that was controversial but makes sense now that Franco is being added to the big league roster.
“One thing they’re very consistent regardless of their pitching or offense, defensively they’re really good,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “When you don’t slump defensively you give yourself a chance. They have some moving pieces, they got rid of Willy, who I thought was their anchor defensively and this kid (Walls) is playing well from what I’ve seen.”
Meanwhile, the Red Sox are coming off a terrible series defensively. Rafael Devers has been inconsistent at third base, Bobby Dalbec is still a work in progress at first base and the Sox have gotten sloppy overall.
There are also questions to be answered at second base after Christian Arroyo went down with a scary knee/leg injury.
X-rays were negative but Arroyo was clearly hurting and it’d be a surprise if he was available in this series.
With Marwin Gonzalez still struggling at the plate, the logical move is to move Kiké Hernandez to second base and call up outfield prospect Jarren Duran, who hit a three-run walk-off homer for the Triple-A WooSox on Sunday.
Duran now has 12 homers in 30 games and a .286 average. He’s drawn rave reviews for his defense by Team USA manager Mike Scioscia. And he could give the Sox a speedy and dangerous leadoff hitter that they’ve been seriously lacking.
The Rays are a team that doesn’t cut corners when it comes to saving money, and for them to reach into their farm system and call up their top prospect for this series is a sign they’re not worried about Franco’s eligible as a Super 2 player.
It’s around mid-June every year that even the most cost-efficient teams feel comfortable adding prospects to the big league team without burning an extra year of cheap control.
The Red Sox have resisted, instead using Michael Chavis whenever they need help. They also have Franchy Cordero hitting well in the minors, but he’s more of a corner outfielder and that’d require moving Alex Verdugo or Hunter Renfroe to center field.
It’s only a matter of time for Duran, and if the Rays can turn their losing streak around and flatten the Red Sox this series, pressure will mount on Chaim Bloom to make the move.
The Rays already went there with Franco. The 20-year-old is hitting .315 with 24 extra-base hits in 39 games in Triple-A this season.
It’s a lot to ask of a rookie in the midst of a losing streak, but he gives them their best chance in the most critical series of the year.
It appears the Red Sox are still more focused on the future.