ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wander Franco did well in the first two games of his minor-league rehab assignment and will join Triple-A Durham for three games in Jacksonville with the potential to rejoin the Rays this weekend.
Franco had a double (and was caught stealing) and a single Monday for the Florida Complex League team after striking out against rehabbing Red Sox starter Chris Sale in his first at-bat. Franco played six innings at shortstop after serving as the designated hitter on Saturday.
“It was good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Monday’s reviews.
Franco has been out since May 31 and was limited before that by a right quad strain and other leg issues.
He went to Jacksonville Tuesday with plans to take batting practice with the Bulls and play for them Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. “And then we’ll reassess,” Cash said.
That creates at least the possibility that Franco will rejoin the Rays for one of their afternoon games Saturday or Sunday against the Pirates.
Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of Franco’s debut in the majors. In 115 regular-season games, he has hit .281 with 11 homers, 58 RBIs and a .778 OPS while serving stints on the injured list both seasons for leg-related issues.
Good news for Anderson
Reliever Nick Anderson will resume his rehab program after getting good news about his elbow in a visit to Dr. Keith Meister. Anderson had a brace installed in his elbow in October as an alternative to more complicated Tommy John surgery and had been having some discomfort. “Nick had a good report,” Cash relayed. “(They) said everything looks really good. Dr. Meister was happy with it. (Anderson) will pick up playing catch (Wednesday).”
Also, the Rays won’t know until the end of the week how catcher Mike Zunino responded to the Botox injection they hope will alleviate symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. Second baseman Brandon Lowe resumed some very light swinging with no issue in his lower back and will take Wednesday off and then progress to more work on Thursday. And Luis Patino (oblique) was set for his second rehab start with Durham on Tuesday.
Mejia stepping up
With Zunino out, Francisco Mejia has been taking advantage of more regular playing time, with a career high four-hit game on Saturday and a 7-for-13 stretch going into Tuesday’s game. Overall, he is hitting .241 with three homers, 14 RBIs and a .638 OPS. “I think there were some inconsistencies early on,” Cash said. “‘Z’ was getting the lion’s share of the playing. This has probably helped Frankie a little bit, having some consistent reps, whether it’s back to back or every other day, kind of the tradeoffs since ‘Z’’s s been down. We know Frankie’s a guy that can do some things with the bat. He’s can give good at-bats. He puts the ball in play and (Saturday) had a big day. Hopefully, that trend continues.”
Miscellany
With a relatively fresh bullpen, the Rays opted to use Jalen Beeks as an opener Tuesday against the Yankees with an assortment of relievers behind him rather than call up Josh Fleming. … Though Zunino is sidelined, the Rays on Tuesday gave out a Florida Man bobblehead in his honor. … Shane Baz said he was looking forward to facing the Yankees on Wednesday, having pitched much better Friday at Baltimore than in his season debut on June 10. ... The Rays on Monday allowed their 45th unearned run, one less than the majors-leading White Sox.
