PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — He’s gone now, and that seems to make some people angry.
Why, they ask, would the Rays want to send Wander Franco back to the minors? How could they not find room on the roster for the game’s No. 1 prospect? Is this just another example of Tampa Bay being cheap?
Let me just say, those all seem like good questions. Let me also say, they deserve the same answer: Are you kidding?
It may sound like a great debate topic, but there’s really no argument to be had. This is the right move for Franco, and the right move for the Rays. This is the right move for 2021, and the right move for 2027. This is the right move, period.
There will be talk about service time manipulation, and that probably plays a role. And if you want to argue that baseball needs to fix the loophole that allows teams to hang on to younger players for an extra year, that’s certainly understandable.
But this is not simply an economic decision. The Rays were two victories from winning the World Series five months ago and chose not to activate Franco even though it would not count against his major-league service time.
The truth is, on this team, with this player, in this moment, the Rays are making the right call. And if you don’t think so, consider it from these various points of view:
Experience
Can Franco play in the majors right now? Of course. Is he the most talented player in the Rays clubhouse right now? Quite possibly. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best for his development to bring him to the majors a month past his 20th birthday.
Because the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, Franco has never had an at-bat above Class A in a regular season game. No matter how precocious he might seem, that’s a huge leap for any player to make. Look at Mike Trout. Bryce Harper. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Fernando Tatis Jr. Corey Seager. Ronald Acuna. They all put in time at Double-A or Triple-A, sometimes more than 700 plate appearances.
Franco barely has 700 at-bats in his entire pro career.
“I’ve watched hitters get ruined by not having enough experience,” said Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola. “Sure, there are plenty of guys who are good enough to play in the big leagues but until they struggle and learn how to get out of it — whether it’s mechanical, physical or mental — it’s not fair to them. Because you don’t want them trying to figure it out under the lights with all the press and all the expectations. In the minor leagues you can disappear for a little while and work those things out.”
Roster
It’s not as if Franco’s demotion Monday leaves a gaping hole in the lineup. Based on baseballreference.com’s WAR calculations, Willy Adames was the second-most valuable shortstop in the American League in 2020.
So that means the Rays would need to move either Adames or Franco to an unfamiliar position or split playing time between them. Considering Franco needs as much playing time as he can get, a platoon makes no sense. And neither player has enough experience yet to take on a new position, although the Rays plan on giving Franco a look at second base and third base in the next few months.
“There’s no denying (Franco’s) a very talented player,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Saying that, we have a core group of guys that played really well last year and went to the World Series. And it was kind of time get those guys together and playing deeper in these games.”
Is there a chance circumstances could change in 2021? Absolutely. If Franco plays as well as expected in Double-A, if the Rays are in contention, if an infielder gets hurt, it would not be shocking to see Franco at Tropicana Field in July.
Service time
It’s become commonplace in recent years for teams to keep top prospects in the minors for at least the first 16 days of a season, which keeps them from accruing a full year of service time and, thus, slows down their free agency clock.
This is undoubtedly unfair to the players, and they should rightfully tell their union to close that loophole in the next bargaining session. But, and this is admittedly cold, that’s not the team’s problem today.
If the Rays started the season with Franco on the roster, he theoretically would be around through 2026 before reaching free agency. But if they bring him up to the majors later in this season, he’ll be under Tampa Bay’s control until the end of the 2027 season.
Even if you’re not talking about free agent status, look at it this way:
Would you rather have Franco for an extra 500 at-bats at age 20, or would those 500 at-bats look better at age 27? Because that’s the tradeoff for a low-revenue team that probably couldn’t afford Franco once he gets past six seasons.
And that, again, is a baseball economics problem and not a Rays problem. Just ask the Indians, who felt compelled to trade Francisco Lindor before he qualified for free agency after this season.
So would it be a gas to see Franco in a Rays uniform on April 1? You betcha.
But would it be the smart move for Tampa Bay? Not even close.
