Rays bench young shortstop Wander Franco over handling of his ‘frustrations’: ‘Good kid and good person’

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been benched through at least Friday’s game because of the way he handles frustration, manager Kevin Cash told reporters Thursday. They also want him to focus on being a better teammate. Cash stressed Franco is a “good kid and good person,” and they will work with him to get better.

“Wander is a really good kid and good person. 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 over the course of this season,” Cash told reporters (per Bally Sports). “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. That being said, we’re going to continue to support Wander as he works through this.”